Broken Emotions
by BlackRoseOnFire
Summary: Sequel to Changes. What will happen with Chris and Manny's relationship? COMPLETE
1. Are They Together?

**Chapter One: Are They Together?**

Manny walked into Degrassi Community School with a huge smile on her face. It was the first day of her senior year. The best part about it was that no one was staring at her. Practically everyone knew what happened to her the year before and knew who the father turned out to be. And they were all happy for her. The weird thing was, Chris wasn't anywhere in sight.

"Hey Emma!" she yelled as she saw her best friend standing at her locker.

"Is your locker near mine?" Emma asked her as she walked up.

"No! Mine's upstairs," she groaned.

"Maybe whoever's locker this is will trade with you," Emma said, pointing to the one next to hers. The minute she said this, JT walked up.

"Not a chance babe," he told Manny. "I have to be next to my girl," he said and put his arm around Emma.

"Your girl?" Manny questioned.

"Oh yeah. I forgot to mention that. I haven't really talked to you since your birthday party. It's been almost a month…" Emma started to say.

"Emma came over my house that night actually. And, well, things happened and here we are," JT explained.

"Things happened?" Manny eyed JT suspiciously. "What kind of things?"

"Don't worry about that babe. We gotta get to class Em," he said to her.

"But class doesn't start for another fifteen minutes," Emma pointed out.

"Well, we have to get to that place and uh…you know," he said, nudging her.

"I'll see you later Manny!" Emma yelled as she quickly grabbed JT's hand and ran off with him. Manny shook her head and smiled, then made her way upstairs to her locker. While she was putting her bag away, she was surprised by who was making his way towards her.

"Jimmy? What are you doing here? Didn't you graduate?" she asked him.

"Yeah, I'm only here to see you," he joked. "Actually, I spent so much time in the hospital last year that I couldn't graduate. Stupid isn't it?"

"That does suck, but I'm glad to see you walking again, that's the important thing," Manny told him. "I mean, you were paralyzed for eleventh and twelfth grade and now you're walking like it never happened. It's a miracle," she said.

"It's more like two years of intense physical therapy," he said, laughing. "But you're right, at least I can walk."

"What classes do you have?" Manny asked him. Jimmy handed his schedule to her and she studied it. "We have Media Immersions, English, Science, and Math together. The first two before lunch and the other two after," she told him.

"I have History now. What do you have?" he asked.

"This special parenting class that I signed up for at the end of last year. I thought it might help me a little. Although now I realized that I really need to learn best from experience."

"Wow I almost forgot that you had a baby," he told her. "You look great."

"Thanks, but I had two. Lily Adila and Lucas Wade," she told him.

"Are you serious? That's crazy. How are you handling that?"

"It's not that bad. They're a little over a month old and they only wake up once during the night now. When they were first born, they woke up about three times, at different times. Now they usually wake up together, which makes it easier," Manny explained.

"Where are they now?" Jimmy asked, interested.

"Emma's mom is watching them until I get home. As soon as the bell rings at two, I'll hurry to her house, pick them up, go home, feed them and change them, and get dressed for work, which I have to be at for three. Emma's been watching them until Heather gets home, but now she has some club after school, so she can't do it. Today I have the day off, so I'll get to see if I can make it to the mall in time for work. I just don't have anyone to watch them. I'll have to find someone by tomorrow. If I can't find anyone, I guess I'll have to ask Spike to watch them again for two hours," she finally finished telling him.

"Why don't I watch them for you? I don't have anything to do," he offered.

"Are you sure? Do you have any experience with babies?"

"Not really, but I can learn," he said, giving her a smile she couldn't refuse.

"Why don't you come home with me today then? I can show you the basics. But you'll only have one day to learn..." Manny said, a little skeptically.

"Sounds great." They both heard the bell ring, and Manny looked at her watch. "Well then I'll see you in Media Immersions second period," Jimmy said as he walked away.

The day passed quickly. In Media Immersions, Jimmy's seat was right next to Manny's. In Science, they chose each other as lab partners. Jimmy even sat with Manny and her friends at lunch. When the day ended, Manny and Jimmy picked the twins up and went back to Manny's house.

After one day at school, they were getting pretty close. It was the first day of Manny's junior year all over again. Only this time, she wasn't getting to know Chris.

**A/N: Sorry that it's short. I just wanted to have an overall summary of Manny's first day. **


	2. Jealousy

**Chapter Two: Jealousy**

"You must have the two most beautiful children I've ever seen," Jimmy complemented Manny. He was sitting on her bed holding Lily. Manny took her from him and handed Lucas over. She was changing their diapers.

"Thanks. I just love them to death," she told him.

"I can see why," Jimmy said. When he looked up to smile at Manny, he immediately looked away, embarrassed.

"It's okay, I'm used to people watching me feed them. There's nothing to be embarrassed about." Jimmy looked up again and this time couldn't bring himself to look away. Manny looked like such a natural mother, and he couldn't help but smile as he watched her feed her daughter. He was less than three feet away from her. When Lily was finished eating, Manny put her down on the bed and motioned for Jimmy to hand her Lucas, leaving her breast completely exposed. Jimmy blushed, but couldn't stop looking. Manny smiled at him and shook her head. She went back to feeding him, and didn't even hear anyone come down the stairs.

"Uh…what are you doing?" Chris asked. He came down into the room and all he saw was Jimmy staring at Manny while she breast fed their son.

"Feeding the baby," Manny said, an annoyed look on her face.

"But what's _he _doing here?" Chris said, pointing at Jimmy.

"Don't be rude. Jimmy has offered to watch the twins when I go to work. He's here to learn everything he can," she explained.

"No offense, but have you even had any experience with babies?" Chris asked him, but then turned to face Manny, without waiting for an answer. "He's learning by watching your breast hang out of your shirt?"

"Don't you have to go to work?" Manny asked, ignoring Chris' question. "We will talk about this later," she said.

"Yeah, fine. I just came by to get my shirt." He walked over to his dresser and pulled a work shirt out. Then he stopped by the bed and gave Manny a quick kiss. "Bye honey," he said to her, and kissed her again, this time taking a little longer and using his tongue. He was trying to show Jimmy that Manny was his. "Bye my little angels," he said, kissing Lucas and then Lily on their heads. When his face went by Jimmy's after kissing Lily, he glared at him. As soon as he was gone, Manny started apologizing to Jimmy.

"I'm sorry, he was being really rude."

"Nah, it's okay. You don't have to apologize for him. Now, how about I learn a little something about taking care of these two?" Manny had already finished feeding Lucas and fixed her shirt. She showed Jimmy how to change their diapers and let him practice. She also showed him how to change their clothes, explaining that he had to be as gentle as possible, and to never leave them on the changing table alone.

"If you need to feed them, there are bottles with breast milk in the fridge. You just have to heat them up for fifteen seconds in the microwave," Manny told him.

"Well, this seems easy enough," he commented.

"Now I'm going to leave you alone so you can see how it will be like. I'm just going to take a quick shower," she said and went upstairs. After fifteen minutes, Lily started crying uncontrollably and Jimmy couldn't get her to stop. He figured out that she needed another diaper change, so he put her on the changing table. He took her diaper off and wiped her, and then realized that there were no more diapers left. He picked Lily up and looked around for more. When he didn't find any, he made sure Lucas was safely in his crib, and ran upstairs to find Manny. He opened the door at the top of the stairs the same time Manny opened the bathroom door. She was standing there, completely naked, holding the towel in her hand. Jimmy nearly dropped the baby, but managed to hold on to her. Manny quickly turned around and whipped the towel around her. Jimmy got a long look at her butt before she got it on. She turned around like nothing had happened at all. Jimmy was blushing, but she ignored it.

"So what's up?" she asked.

"I'm really sorry Manny. I didn't even know that the bathroom was at the top of the stairs…" he began to say.

"Don't worry about it. With all the kids there are in this house, it happens all the time," she said, brushing it off.

"Um, okay. Well, uh…" he couldn't finish his sentence. "Oh yeah, I couldn't find any more diapers."

"There's a door off of my room with a bunch of boxes of diapers in it," she told him. She led him back to her room and showed him where they were.

"Thanks. And uh…I'm really sorry…"

"Just forget about it. I won't tell Chris either, don't worry." Manny pulled a box of diapers out of the room, opened it up, and put the diapers on the second shelf of the changing table.

"Wow, um…" Jimmy started to say.

"What's wrong?" Manny asked, turning around.

"Lily just peed on me," he said, pointing to the wet spot that was slowly spreading on his shirt. He had forgotten that she didn't have a diaper on.

"Oh man. That's never happened before," Manny said, laughing. She took Lily from him, put a diaper on her, and put her into her crib. Jimmy was just staring at the pee on his shirt. "Here, just take it off and I'll wash it for you." Manny helped him take his shirt off, and almost blushed when she saw his body. "You're in good shape," she commented.

"Uh thanks," he said, and suddenly felt very exposed. But all of a sudden, he lightened up. _I did just see her completely naked,_ he thought to himself. Manny threw his shirt into the twins' hamper next to the changing table.

"Did you want to wear one of Chris' shirts?" she asked.

"Nah. It probably wouldn't fit." He was right, it wouldn't. He was at least three inches taller than Chris, if not more.

"You're right," Manny agreed. She sat down on her bed and patted the spot next to her, indicating for Jimmy to sit down. "You gonna tell Hazel that you saw me…well, in a compromising state?" she asked him.

"There's no need to. She broke up with me a little while ago."

"What? Why?" Manny asked, surprised.

"She found out that I wouldn't be going to college because of my therapy. We didn't think it would take as long as it did."

"That's really harsh. What did she think you could do? Learn to walk faster?" Manny asked angrily. She wasn't sure why that made her so mad.

"Yeah, well, I'm better off without her," Jimmy said confidently.

"You probably are," Manny agreed. Silence followed Manny's last comment, and she was just looking into Jimmy's eyes, waiting for him to respond. Instead, he leaned forward and kissed her, taking her completely by surprise. She leaned back, but not until he finished the kiss.

"I'm really sorry. I shouldn't have done that," he began to apologize. "I really shouldn't have and I should probably go," he said, starting to get up.

"No, you don't have to. It's okay, really." Surprising Jimmy and even herself, Manny pulled him back down onto the bed and kissed him. She lay down and pulled him on top of her without thinking. The sexual tension between them was immense, and she couldn't help herself. All Manny was wearing was a towel, and the babies were asleep. _Chris was being a real ass to me today, _she thought to herself. _He'd never have to know…_

**A/N: You'll have to wait and see what happens in chapter three! I want five reviews until I update again. I also have to work on my story At Last. **


	3. What's Happening Here?

**Chapter Three: What's Happening Here?**

_Why am I doing this? I can't do this, _Manny thought to herself. But for some reason, she couldn't stop herself.

"I can't do this," Jimmy said, sitting up.

"I was thinking the same thing. I'm sorry Jimmy, I don't know why I…" she started to say.

"No, I should be the one apologizing. Oh man, I can't believe I did that, especially after Chris coming down here and…"

"Jimmy, calm down and stop rambling! It's okay; it's not your fault. I shouldn't have kissed you back, and besides, Chris won't find out, I promise," Manny explained. Right as she finished talking, she heard the door open and then close above them, and could hear the boys running into the kitchen. "Yeah, I think I should get dressed now that they're home," Manny said.

"Uh…yeah, that's probably a really good idea," Jimmy replied, a wave of embarrassment washing over him once again. "Where should I go?" he asked, looking around.

"You can either go in that room," she pointed at the door. "The closet, or just turn around."

"I think I'll go in the room," Jimmy said. As soon as he closed the door behind him, Manny began to get dressed.

"I'm done!" she yelled and he came out. "Let's go, I'm gonna take you home." She grabbed his hand and dragged him upstairs. "Heather, this is Jimmy. He'll be watching Lily and Lucas until you get home everyday. Emma has an environmental science club after school now," she said, introducing Jimmy to her.

"Nice to meet you Jimmy," Heather said, extending her hand, and he shook it.

"Do you think you can keep an eye on the twins until I get back? I have to take him home," she told Heather.

"Sure, that's fine, go ahead," she answered. Manny plopped the baby monitor on the kitchen counter and turned to leave, and Jimmy followed her.

"Thanks!" she yelled over her shoulder before running out the door. Once they got in the car, Manny turned to Jimmy. "Aren't your parents gonna wonder where you went after school?" she asked him. "It's 5:30," she pointed out.

"They wouldn't know because I don't live with them. They were never around and then decided to move and I didn't want to go with them. So I stayed here and I live in a condo. They pay for everything though," Jimmy explained.

"Wow, you're lucky. I guess I was lucky to have people like Heather and Jason to move in with. My parents just didn't really want me around anymore. My mother told me I was a disappointment to the family because of the way I dressed and acted. Then when I got pregnant, they wouldn't even talk to me. But I had already moved out by then. Chris and I are thinking about getting our own apartment because the Daniels' already have a lot to worry about with four kids of their own."

"Is it alright if I asked you what happened between you and Chris? After the babies were born, I mean. I heard a little from Paige and Marco, but I wanted to hear it from you. But you don't have to answer," he added. Manny sighed.

"I don't mind telling you. Well, the day Lily and Lucas were born, I was so overcome with joy that I didn't notice Chris getting more and more upset. He didn't know what to do because we weren't sure who their father was. He left me that same day. I found out a week later that he was the father, but I didn't know where he went, so I couldn't tell him. His mom told me that he wasn't home, and I knew he wasn't at Marco's. I think he went back to the states. Anyway, he didn't come back until a month after he had left. I was so angry with him, and I wasn't sure that I even wanted him back. We had a long talk that night, and decided it was best for the babies to stay together. I still loved him, ya know? I was just so mad at him," she explained. "But the relationship's been really rocky ever since he came back, and you're the only person I've told that to."

"Wow, I'm really sorry. I had no idea that all of that happened. I guess it's really none of my business, but I think you deserve better than that," he said. "Stop. That's it right there," he said, pointing to the condominiums on the left. He told her the number and she drove up to it.

"This is really nice. And by the way, you don't have to worry about me. I can deal with Chris," she said. Jimmy went to open the door but Manny leaned towards him. She kissed him on the cheek. "Thanks for all your help, see you tomorrow."

"Yeah, I'll see ya," he said and got out of the truck. Manny waited until he got the door unlocked. Jimmy turned and waved to her to let her know that he was in and she waved back before driving away. The song "Scars" by Papa Roach was on the radio, so she turned it up louder and sang along with it.

_I tear my heart open, I sew myself shut  
My weakness is that I care too much  
And our scars remind me that the past is real  
I tear my heart open just to feel  
_  
_Drunk and I'm feeling down  
And I just wanna be alone  
I'm pissed cause you came around  
Why don't you just go home  
Cause you channel all your pain  
And I can't help you fix yourself  
You're making me insane  
All I can say is_

_I tear my heart open, I sew myself shut  
My weakness is that I care too much  
And our scars remind us that the past is real  
I tear my heart open just to feel  
_  
_I tried to help you once  
Against my own advice  
I saw you going down  
But you never realized  
That you're drowning in the water   
So I offered you my hand  
Compassions in my nature  
Tonight is our last stand…_

When the song was over, Manny realized she was sitting in the driveway at home, and saw Chris sitting on the steps waiting for her. It was 6:30 and he was home three hours early. _Great, here it goes, _she thought. She turned the car off and jumped out.

"Why are you home from work so early?" Manny asked Chris as she approached him.

"We need to talk," he replied. "Let's go inside." Manny followed Chris down to their room where Lily and Lucas were still asleep. "Why was Jimmy really here Manny?" he asked her when she sat down on the couch.

"I already told you Chris. He is going to watch them when I go to work," she said angrily. She was talking fairly quietly because she didn't want to wake the babies.

"Why was he watching you feed them? Just so he could stare at your chest?" He was getting madder by the minute.

"Why does it bother you that he saw me feeding our children? You don't care when Marco, Paige, Emma, Heather, or even Jason does! So why should it be any different with Jimmy?"

"Because it is! Marco's gay, Jason is like a father to you, and all the rest of them are girls! Besides, why isn't Emma watching the twins?" he spat.

"That doesn't matter! If I am sitting in a room full of guys, and the babies are hungry, I'm going to feed them! I'm not ashamed to take care of my children in front of people. And Emma has a club after school," Manny hissed. Chris was pacing around the room. He walked over to the cribs and looked down at Lily and Lucas. He watched them sleep for a minute and then noticed something on his left. He went over to the babies' clothes hamper and pulled out a shirt.

"What the hell is this?" he yelled. "Why did Jimmy take off his shirt? I knew you were lying to me!" At this point, both Lucas and Lily woke up crying.

"Thank you so much Chris! You just fucking woke them up! And I wasn't lying to you. Lily pissed on Jimmy's shirt, so I told him I would wash it. I wasn't going to make him wear it like that! I don't really see why you're getting so jealous because you know what? I should be the one mad at you! You left for a month and left me to take care of the twins by myself. I still don't know where you went, or what happened. You didn't call, and I just took you back the minute you reappeared. You're the one that left me Chris. YOU left, not ME!" Manny finished yelling at him and just cried. "If you're so unhappy here, then maybe you shouldn't have come back!" The babies were still crying, but neither Chris nor Manny made a move to pick them up.

"Manny, I…" he began to say.

"Let me guess. You're sorry, right? Is that all you can ever say?" Manny said. Chris walked over and sat on the couch next to her.

"Yeah Manny, I am sorry. I shouldn't have yelled at you and I definitely shouldn't have left. I just didn't know what to do," he whispered to her.

"You've already told me that. I didn't know what to do either, but I stayed by my children's sides. I didn't leave."

"I hope you can forgive me, because it's something I can't take back. If I could go back and fix it, you know I would. And I'm sorry for being rude to Jimmy. If you want him to watch the twins while we're at work, I'm fine with that. I love you so much Manny, and I don't know what I'd do if I ever lost you," Chris told her.

"I love you too. I know that you're sorry, and of course I can forgive you. I did the day you came back, it's just that when you act this way, it makes me feel like you didn't really want to come back, and you'd be better of staying where you were," she explained.

"Don't say that. The only place I want to be is with you. I will always love you as long as I live," he said as he stood up. He kneeled down in front of her and pulled something out of his pocket. "Manuela Santos, will you marry me?" he asked, holding a ring out to her.

"Oh Chris…" she said and started to cry again. "Yes, I'll marry you," she said and he put the ring on her finger. "On one condition though," she added.

"Anything," Chris told her.

"We wait until we graduate high school."

"Of course. I'd wait forever for you," he said and kissed her.

**A/N: To answer grumpybear62684's questions, Manny and Chris got back together that day he came back at the end of Changes…I believe she says this during this chapter…and yes, Chris is the biological father of the twins…that is stated in chapter 23 of Changes. **


	4. No More

**Chapter Four: No More **

**A/N: Warning! This chapter contains a scene with a somewhat graphic description and sensitive subject for some people. Thought I'd warn you. **

Manny's cell phone rang seven times before it woke her up. She glanced at the clock. It was 3:26 am.

"Hello?" she said groggily. Chris was asleep next to her.

"Manny! You have to come to the hospital. Please!" Paige cried into the phone.

"What happened? Is everything alright?" Manny asked frantically.

"It's Avery. She was burning up so I took her temperature and she has a fever. She couldn't stop crying, no matter what I did, so I rushed her to the emergency room. She's really sick Manny. She's onlyeight weeks old," Paige said between sobs.

"I'll be right there. Don't worry, everything will be fine," she said before hanging up. "Chris wake up," Manny said, shoving him.

"What?" he asked as he rubbed his eyes.

"I have to go to the hospital to see Paige. Avery's sick," she told him.

"Okay, I'll be here with Lily and Lucas. Call me if you need me for anything," he said.

"I will. I love you," she said and kissed him.

"I love you too." Shortly after he said this, he fell asleep. Manny left a note on the kitchen table for Heather and Jason, put her jacket on, and drove to the hospital.

She rushed through the ER doors, stopping at the desk to find out where Paige was. The receptionist told her, and Manny soon found Paige standing outside the NICU, her face pressed to the glass.

"Manny! I'm so sorry that I woke you up. My mom's on a business trip and Marco's visiting Dylan at college, so I had no one else to call."

"Don't worry about it. You're one of my best friends; of course you can call me in a situation like this," Manny assured her. "How is she?" Manny peered through the glass as well.

"She has pneumonia Manny! I don't know what I'll do if I lose her!" Paige said and burst into tears.

"You're not gonna lose her Paige. She'll get better, she's a fighter," Manny comforted her.

"Ms. Michalchuk?" a nurse asked.

"That's me," Paige said sadly.

"Avery is stabilized for now. It would help her a great deal if she had her mother in there with her," the nurse told her. "You have to put onscrubs, booties over your shoes, gloves, a cap, and a mask. Avery can't be exposed to any more bacteria."

"Where do I get all of that?" Paige asked. "And can Manny come with me?"

"I'm sorry, but only blood relatives are allowed in the NICU. You can get ready over there," she said, pointing to a room on the right.

"I'll wait out here for you Paige," Manny told her.

She walked away and got ready as fast as she could. When she was all suited up, the nurse led her over to Avery's incubator. All Paige could do was cry when she saw her daughter. There were a bunch of machines hooked up to her that monitored her breathing, heart rate, and blood pressure. Paige also noticed that one machine was helping her breathe. Tears streamed down her face and she couldn't stop them. She put an arm into the incubator and stroked her cheek.

"Mommy's here Avery. You're strong and I know that you'll get better. You have to get better for me. I can't live without you."

Paige stood next to her daughter for hours. A nurse came by and showed Manny to a room where she could wait for Paige. She soon fell asleep in a chair. Since Manny was used to waking up around six o'clock to feed the babies and get ready for school, she instinctively woke up from in the chair at that time. She called her house and asked Jason to call the school and tell them why she and Paige would be absent.

Around 1:30, a nurse came into the waiting room. She told Manny that Paige should probably go home and get some rest. She wasn't listening to the nurses, so she asked Manny to talk to her. Manny made her way back to the NICU to find Paige standing outside, arguing with Dr. Mason.

"Paige, come on, I'll take you home. You really need to rest," Manny said.

"No! I'm not leaving until she gets better," Paige refused to move.

"You've been in there for ten hours, be reasonable," Manny said, trying to convince her.

"I said no Manny! Why won't any of you listen to me?" she begged.

"We are listening Paige. I can tell that you need to rest. We will call you if anything happens with Avery," Dr. Mason assured her. "The second things get better or worse, you will know."

"I want to be right here in case something does happen," she said.

"I'm going to tell you now that by talking to Avery for so long, you have most likely helped her out a lot. But if you stay while you are getting tired and irritable, the baby will notice the amount of stress in you and could get more sick," a nurse told her.

"Fine! But if you don't call me…" she started to say.

"We will call Paige. Don't worry," Dr. Mason said.

"Come on, I'll bring you home. You can come back and get your car later," Manny told her. They left the hospital, and Paige cried the whole way home. "Everything will work out, I promise," Manny told her as she got out of the truck. Once Paige was inside, Manny rushed over to DCS to pick Jimmy up. She still had to go to work.

"Where were you all day?" Jimmy asked as he got into Manny's truck.

"Avery is really sick. I was at the hospital with Paige. After ten hours of standing with her, we all finally convinced her to go home and rest," she explained.

"That must be horrible for her," he said. "Tell her that I'm sorry and I'll pray for her." At this time, they had arrived at Emma's to pick the twins up. Chris had dropped them off in the morning. When they all got back to Manny's, she helped Jimmy bring the babies inside and quickly changed into her work clothes.

"Good luck on your first day," Manny told Jimmy as she was leaving. "Oh, and Spike's number is on the fridge if you really have a problem."

"Don't worry, we won't," he said, referring to himself and the twins. "Bye Manny."

* * *

Two weeks went by and Paige went to the hospital every day for a few hours to stay with Avery. The doctors never let her stay too long. Manny noticed that Paige was getting more and more depressed by the day. One day, she even refused to go to the hospital and said that she wasn't helping Avery by being there because she was still sick. That day, Manny was really worried about her, so she left work early. First she went to her house to find Jimmy still there. 

"I thought I'd wait for you to come home. Chris called and said that he was working late," he told Manny.

"I have to check on Paige and make sure she's okay. That's why I came home early. She refused to go to the hospital today," Manny informed him. She dialed Paige's home number and the phone rang twelve times before Manny hung up. Paige's mom still wasn't back from her business trip in Europe. "She's not answering and that's not good."

"Maybe she's on the phone," Jimmy suggested. Manny called again a few minutes later, and still no answer.

"I have to go over to her house. She wouldn't be on the phone because she's waiting for the doctor to call."

"Do you want me to come with you?" he asked her.

"Sure," Manny replied. They buckled the twins into their car seats and put them in the car. Manny drove as fast as she could to Paige's, without going over the speed limit.

* * *

Paige was in the bathroom that was between her bedroom and Avery's. She was standing about four feet away from the sink, and was staring into the mirror above it. There was music playing, and she had been brushing her hair, but for some reason, stopped. 

_I've been looking in the mirror for so long  
__That I've come to believe my soul's on the other side_

All of a sudden, Paige threw the hairbrush at the mirror, which broke into a million pieces, some tiny shards, some large chunks.

_All the little pieces falling shatter  
__Shards of me too sharp to put back together  
__Too small to matter  
__But big enough to cut me into so many little pieces  
__If I try to touch her_

Paige walked over to the sink and picked a large chunk of glass from it. She turned it around in her hand, looking at all the sides of it. After staring for a minute, she decided what to do, and put the sharp end to the inside of her arm, pressing down. She started at the base of her hand and pulled the glass downwards, halfway to the inside of her elbow. All she could do was watch the line of blood drip onto the floor.

_And I bleed  
__I bleed  
__And I breathe  
__I breathe no more_

Manny threw open the door to the house after Paige didn't answer her frantic knocking. She looked for her downstairs, and when she couldn't find her, she ran up the stairs to the second floor. After checking in Paige and Avery's bedrooms, she tried the bathroom door in Avery's room, but it was locked. She ran back into Paige's room, and luckily the door on that side was unlocked. Manny burst in to find Paige on the floor, a pool of blood next to her. Paige looked up at her with pleading eyes and then looked back at her arm. Manny quickly pulled out her cell phone and called 911. She screamed for Jimmy who had turned the truck off and brought the twins into Paige's living room. She grabbed a towel out of the closet and wrapped it tightly around her friend's arm to try and stop the bleeding. Jimmy was at Paige's other side, holding her hand and telling her it was all going to be okay.

_Take a breath and I try to draw from my spirit's well  
__Yet again you refuse to drink like a stubborn child  
__Lie to me; convince me that I've been sick forever  
__And all of this will make sense when I get better_

They could all hear the sirens as the ambulance approached. Jimmy went downstairs and ushered the paramedics up to the bathroom. Manny was desperately trying to keep her awake. Paige was put on a stretcher and into the back of the ambulance. Manny was allowed to ride with her. Jimmy put the twins back into the truck and followed them to the hospital.

_But I know the difference  
__Between myself and my reflection  
__I just can't help but to wonder  
__Which of us do you love?_

Manny was holding Paige's hand and praying for her. They were rushing to the hospital, sirens blasting, when she lost consciousness.

_So I bleed  
__I bleed  
__And I breathe  
__I breathe no  
__Bleed  
__I bleed  
__And I breathe  
__I breathe  
__I breathe  
__I breathe  
__No more _

Paige stopped breathing and Manny was terrified that she was going to lose her. The paramedic struggled to insert a breathing tube. But what if he was too late?

**A/N: Sorry but I'm leaving it there. The italics are a song by Evanescence called "Breathe No More." I don't own it; they do. **


	5. Lucky

**Chapter Five: Lucky**

"This is all my fault," Manny said softly. Tears were falling down her cheeks.

"How can you say that?" Jimmy asked her, surprised. "Manny, this is not anyone's fault."

"I should have stayed with her. I knew something was wrong when she didn't want to go to the hospital." The two were sitting in the hospital room, next to a comatose Paige. She still had the breathing tube in, and was attached to as many monitors as her daughter was. The doctors were able to stop the bleeding and stitch her up. Paige also had a blood transfusion when they finished because she lost too much blood. The doctor told Manny that they would just have to wait and see what happened.

"Manny, you may have saved her life," the nurse told her. "The paramedics said that if you had called 911 any later, she would have been dead by the time she reached the hospital. You did a good thing."

"Yeah, we'll have to see if that's true. She might not ever wake up," Manny said, and burst into tears again. Jimmy rubbed her back to comfort her. The twins were still in their car seats, and they were fast asleep. The door opened and Chris came in. He had just gotten off from work.

"I'm so glad you're here," Manny said and ran to him. He swept her up in a loving embrace. Jimmy could tell that they still loved each other a lot.

"I better get going," he said, pretending to be concerned about the time.

"You don't have a way to get home though," Manny pointed out.

"That's okay. I'll walk or take a cab. See ya later," Jimmy said, walking out.

"Hey Jimmy!" Chris said before he reached the door. Jimmy turned around. "Thanks for taking care of the twins."

"No problem man," he said and left.

"Chris, I don't know what to do," Manny cried.

"The doctor said that we just have to wait," he told her.

"I know, but what if she doesn't wake up." For the first time since he had walked in the room, Chris really looked at Paige. All the machines and tubes and IVs made him uneasy.

"She will." Just then there was a knock at the door.

"Come in," Manny said softly. Dr. Mason came into the room.

"How is she?" the doctor asked Manny.

"Stable, but she's in a coma," she informed her. Then Manny realized why Dr. Mason would be there. "What's happened to Avery?" she asked, worried.

"This morning, I came into work, and she…" Manny interrupted the doctor.

"Oh no! I can't lose both of them," she cried.

"Manny, please let me finish," she said sternly. "I came into work and Avery's fever was down. Throughout the day she got better, and now the fever is gone completely. But by the looks of it, she can't go home," Dr. Mason finished, looking over at Paige.

"Where's my daughter?" they all heard someone screaming from down the hall. Manny rushed out the door to see Paige's mother.

"She's in here Mrs. Michalchuk!" Manny yelled to her.

"Is she okay? What happened?" she asked frantically as she ran to the room. "Oh my poor baby," she cried as she saw Paige. She immediately rush to Paige's side and grasped onto her hand. "Mommy's here Paige. I'm right here." Hearing all of the commotion, Dr. Anis came into the room. "What happened to her?" Paige's mom screamed at the doctor. "Somebody tell me!"

"Manny, Chris, could you give us a moment?" Dr. Anis asked them. They left the room, but watched through the glass window. They saw Paige's mom collapse in tears into the doctor's arms when she found out what her daughter had done to herself. After a few minutes of comforting Mrs. Michalchuk, Dr. Anis motioned that the two of them could come back into the room. "Now, I have to discuss something with all of you. We don't know how long Paige is going to be here, and that's a problem. Avery will be ready to go home tomorrow, but she has nowhere to go. I was thinking that you would like to take her home," he said to Paige's mother. She was now sitting down in the chair next to Paige's bed, her head in her hands.

"I can't do that," she said, shaking her head back and forth. "I'm not leaving her. What if she's awake by tomorrow? Then we can all take Avery home together."

"Mrs. Michalchuk, let me explain something to you. By the way things are going right now, Paige will most likely not be awake by the time Avery needs to go home. Even if she were, we would not be allowed to put Avery back into her care," the doctor informed her.

"Why not? She's Avery's mother!"

"Social Services will not sign to let Avery return home with Paige because she is psychologically unstable. They would be afraid that if she is willing to hurt herself, she may hurt the baby as well."

"She would never do that! She loves her daughter with all her heart and would do anything to protect her," her mother argued.

"Even if that is the case, they will not allow it. If there were someone who is able to kept constant watch over the baby and Paige, we would allow her to take Avery home. However, that is not the case, and if there is no one to take Avery out of the hospital, Social Services will be forced to take her and put her in a foster home."

"I'll take her home with me," Manny said all of a sudden.

"Oh Manny, thank you so much!" Mrs. Michalchuk cried.

"Now, Ms. Santos, do you realize that taking care of Avery as well as your two children will be a great deal more work? And, we do not even know when Paige will wake up, so you could have the baby for a very long time," the doctor told her.

"Yes I realize that. I'm prepared to do anything to help Paige. She's like a sister to me. Avery is my goddaughter as well," she answered.

"I have to also let you know that when Paige does wake up, she will not be able to take Avery back home right away. She will have to see a psychologist and go through test and treatments to make sure she is completely stable. We believe that she suffers from post partum depression, and the depression manifested itself when Avery got sick. However, she could have a more severe form of depression, in which case, you could have Avery for months, even years."

"I don't care. I want to have her with me," Manny said.

"This is a very noble thing you are doing, and I'm sure Paige will appreciate it greatly. I know I do," her mom told Manny, hugging her.

"If you'll follow me Ms. Santos, I will show you where to fill out the paperwork. It will be sent to a judge, who will decide whether you are fit to take temporary custody of Avery. People will come to your home and check everything out to make sure that you are the best possible solution to this. It will not be a quick and easy process, so I want to make sure that you really want to do this," the doctor explained as they walked down the hall.

"I'm positive, Manny stated. "As I said before, I'll do anything to help."

* * *

The next day, someone came over to inspect the Daniels' house. The woman told her that it looked like a good environment for Avery to stay in. She also said that Paige is lucky to have a friend like her. Two days after the inspector came, (it was Saturday) Manny got a call from a man who told her that she was granted temporary custody of Avery Michalchuk. 

"Come on!" she yelled to Chris as she hung up the phone.

"Where are we going?" he asked.

"To pick Avery up from the hospital." She strapped the twins into their car seats and put them in the truck. Chris followed with the diaper bag. Manny drove to the hospital, excited to bring Avery home. She wasn't sure why she was so excited; she already had two babies to take care of.

"What can I do for you?" the receptionist asked.

"I'm here to pick up Avery Michalchuk. I was given temporary custody of her until her mother is better," she said, handing the woman the papers. Chris stayed in the truck with the twins.

"Okay, follow me," she said. Manny had picked up Avery's car seat from Paige's house. She went to the nursery where Avery was staying. Once she got better, she couldn't be taking up a bed in the NICU, so they brought her there.

"Hi honey," Manny said to the baby as she picked her up out of the bed. She strapped her into the car seat. "Thanks," Manny said to the receptionist and nurse who helped her. "Come on Avery, let's go see mommy before we leave." Manny made her way to Paige's hospital room. Her mom was asleep in the chair next to the bed. "Oh Paige," she whispered. "You have to get better for all of us." She fixed Paige's hair that was across her face and left.


	6. In The Light

**Chapter Six: In The Light**

Two weeks passed since Avery went home with Manny. Taking care of Avery and the twins was hard because Avery woke up three times every night. Even though they were only 13 weeks old, (3 months and a week) the twins slept through the night. But with Avery crying in the middle of the night, it woke the twins up too. Chris and Manny had to get up all the time to calm down all three babies. Spike watched all three of them while Manny was at school, and Jimmy watched Avery too when Chris and Manny went to work. Every night after work, Chris, Manny, and Jimmy would go visit Paige in the hospital. There were still no signs of her waking.

One Saturday night, Manny convinced Mrs. Michalchuk to visit her granddaughter while she stayed with Paige. Chris stayed home with the twins.

"Paige, I know that you love your daughter very much. She needs you," she whispered, holding Paige's hand. Then she started to sing to her. Although Paige was in a coma, she was still dreaming.

**-Paige's Dream-**

_Paige walked barefoot in the grass. She didn't know where she was, and there was no one in sight. "Where am I?" she said out loud. _

_**Winter winds have gone and faded  
**__**I told the skies of thoughts of gray  
**__**Tears upon my pillow laying  
**__**A child lost to pain  
**__**I pray for better days**_

_Spinner appeared in front of her. She reached out to touch him, but her arm fell short. "Spin? What are you doing here?" she asked. As she walked forward to catch up to him, he walked away. When Paige started to run, Spinner disappeared. "Help me!" Paige yelled after him._

_**Lift me up  
**_**_Lead me from this place  
_**_**Let your love be mercy on my face  
**_**_I'm rising up; I changed before your eyes  
_**_**Out of darkness, standing in the light** _

_Paige threw herself onto the grass and cried. She didn't know what to do, and no one could help her._

_**Heaven hoped you'd come and change me  
**_**_Out of ashes, make me whole  
_**_**Lift me up and recreate me  
**__**Help me overcome myself  
**__**Lead me from hell**_

_A hand reached down and helped Paige up from the ground. "What are you doing down here?" he asked. _

"_I want to go home Spin," was all she said. _

"_Come here, it's all gonna be okay," he told her and hugged her._

**_Lift me up  
_****_Lead me from this place  
_**_**Let your love be mercy on my face  
**_**_I'm rising up; I changed before your eyes  
_****_Out of darkness, standing in the light_**

"_You can't leave us Paige," a voice said that wasn't Spinner's. "Don't leave your daughter, she needs you." It was Manny._

"_Where are you Manny?" Paige yelled._

"_I want to help you Paige. I just don't know how," Manny cried. Paige closed her eyes._

_**I'm rising up; I'm moving on  
**_**_Give me strength to carry on  
_**_**I feel the light upon my face  
**__**I hear the angels' words of grace  
**__**My broken wings will never fly  
**__**Lift me up and justify  
**__**I'm standing up, I'm standing out  
**__**I feel the walls come crashing down**_

_She opened her eyes._

_**Lift me up  
Lead me from this place  
Let your love be mercy on my face**__**  
I'm rising up; I changed before your eyes  
Out of darkness, standing in the light  
Light**_

"Manny?" Paige whispered. Manny looked down, startled by the voice.

"Welcome back Paige," Manny said and smiled.

**A/N: Sorry it's so short, but I wanted it to end there. The italics are Paige's dream and the bold italics are lyrics. The song is "In the Light" by Full Blown Rose. They own the song. Let me know how you liked it. **


	7. Getting Her Back

**Chapter Seven: Getting Her Back**

**A/N: Okay a few people are asking where Craig is…with the exceptions of Jimmy and Paige, everyone from their grade has moved on to college, even Craig. He may or may not be in the story later; I know that, but I'm not going to tell you!**

"Hello?" Chris answered the phone on the first ring.

"It's me! Is Paige's mom still there?" Manny asked.

"Yeah, why?"

"Tell her to bring Avery to the hospital now! Paige woke up!" she yelled happily into the phone.

"Okay, she says she'll be right there." he said.

"Bring the twins too. Maybe Heather will let you take the van. I gotta go!" Manny hung up the phone.

"Manny, I'm so sorry," Paige whispered.

"For what?"

"For doing this to myself, and making you worry about me," she said.

"Paige, you are one of my best friends. And it's not your fault," Manny explained.

"I know, the doctor told me. Post partum depression. But what if something's really wrong with me? I might never get Avery back," she said, starting to cry.

"You'll get her back. Don't worry about it."

"Have Marco and Dylan been here to visit me?" she asked suddenly.

"No. They couldn't get here from the states. They've been really busy with school. But they called every day, hoping you were awake, or the phone would wake you up," Manny told her and laughed.

"No one has told me how long I was in a coma for..."

"It's been about two weeks. After a week, you started breathing on your own, and they took the breathing tube out." Paige rubbed her throat when Manny said this. The two girls sat in silence for five minutes. The silence was broken by the door bursting open. It was Paige's mom, carrying Avery in her car seat. She thrust the car seat towards Manny and ran to Paige, hugging her hard.

"Oh honey I thought I lost you," she cried to her daughter.

"Mom, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to…" Paige started to say.

"Shhh…it's okay. I love you Paige. Don't ever scare me like that again," she whispered, stroking Paige's hair.

"I won't, I promise." Paige said.

"Hey, we got here as fast as we could." Manny turned around to see Chris, the twins and, surprisingly enough, Jimmy standing in the doorway.

"Chris picked me up on the way," Jimmy said, noticing Manny's surprise.

"I'm so glad you're both here too," Paige told them. "And Jimmy, I remembered you telling me that it would all be okay. Thanks for that," she said.

"No problem. Anything for a friend," Jimmy told her. Everyone hugged Paige and she held Avery, then the twins. They all stayed until visiting hours were over. Paige needed rest because the psychologist would be visiting her the next day. She was also told that they were going to keep her in the hospital for a few more days to make sure she was fine.

* * *

"Hello Paige, I'm Dr. Butler," the man said, shaking her hand.

"Hi," was all she responded. Paige was in her gown and bathrobe, sitting in a chair across from Dr. Butler's desk. His office was in the hospital.

"I'm going to ask you some questions. You don't always have to answer if you don't want to, but it will help me find out if you have any long term psychological problems. My first question is, how did you feel when you first found out you were pregnant with your daughter?" Paige took a minute to think before she answered.

"I was scared. Any seventeen-year-old would be. Especially with who the father was…" she trailed off.

"I understand that her father is Matthew Oleander. Can you tell me about your relationship with him?"

"He was my boyfriend. I knew it was wrong; but he was only a student teacher, and he wasn't my teacher."

"I have been told that he was charged with statutory rape because you weren't eighteen yet when you had sex. Did he force you at all in any way?" Dr. Butler asked.

"Well, as I said in court, I didn't really want to have sex withhim that day, but I did agree to it. I was uncomfortable, but I never said no. So he didn't rape me," Paige explained.

"Back to your pregnancy then. The doctors and nurses who were present during Avery's birth said that you were one of the happiest teenagers they'd ever seen in the delivery room. What changed your attitude so much?"

"The day I found out that Manny was pregnant, I felt a little better about myself. I knew I wasn't alone anymore. I guess I also felt connected to her because there was a chance that Mr. Oleander was the father of her baby too."

"He raped her, correct?" the doctor asked.

"Yes," she answered.

"And how did that make you feel?"

"I was furious. I didn't think that he would do that to anyone, but I knew Manny wasn't lying to me. I felt so bad for her, and I hated him for it."

"I see," he said and made a few notes on the paper in front of him. "Back to Avery. How did you feel when you took her home for the first time?" he asked.

"While I was in the hospital, I had so many people helping me, but I knew that when it came time to go home, it would be much harder. I was scared, but I knew that I could do it. I was actually very happy the day that I brought her home. My mom helps me out a lot. It got a little hard when she had to leave on a business trip…"

"Right before Avery got sick?"

"Yeah. When that happened, I didn't know what to do. I called Manny and she brought me to the hospital. It was the worst time in my life for me. I wanted to stay with her every minute, but everyone told me that I needed rest, and they'd call when something happened. I still didn't want to leave her, so I visited every day. And then, one day, I couldn't bring myself to go see her. I don't know why," Paige said and began crying.

"I'm sure you were upset and exhausted. Tell me about the day you cut yourself," Dr. Butler said. Paige ran her fingers along the bandage on her arm and sighed.

"That was the day that I couldn't see Avery. Manny called me a few times, but I didn't answer. I knew she was going to try and get me to go, so I didn't want to talk to her," Paige said. "I was in the bathroom, listening to the radio. A song came on that was sad and depressive while I was brushing my hair. I…" she stopped her story.

"Please continue," Dr. Butler said.

"I threw my brush at the mirror and it shattered. I picked up a piece of glass and cut myself. Right after I did it, I was in shock and I couldn't do anything. I let myself fall to the ground and I closed my eyes. All I could think about was Avery and how much better off she'd be if she had someone else as a mother."

"Did you want to die Paige?" the doctor asked.

"At first, I did. I thought it would make everything better. But after thinking for ten minutes on the floor, I realized that it would make everyone hate me for leaving them. When Manny finally came, I saw the horror in her eyes when she first saw me. That's when I looked down at the pool of blood and wanted to take it all back, but I was too weak to even move. By the time the paramedics arrived, it was like I couldn't hear anything. I was already gone and I thought I was going to die," she finished. She was trying as hard as she could not to cry.

"Well Paige that should be enough for today. Dr. Anis told me that you will be staying for three more days here at the hospital. If I have a chance before then, I'll stop by and see how you're doing. If not, your next appointment is a week from tomorrow.

"How many times do I have to see you before I know if I can have my daughter back?" she asked him before she left.

"You have to come once a week for six more weeks until I am able to make a thorough decision," Dr. Butler said. When Paige finally got back to her room, all she wanted to do was go to sleep. It was very physically and emotionally draining to talk to Dr. Butler, even though it was only her first time. But if it helped her get Avery back then she was willing to do it.

**A/N: Okay, I know that the story seems to be all about Paige. I was planning this little thing for a long time to happen to her and I didn't know it would take up so many chapters. In hopefully the next chapter, I'm going to sum it all up with her…say if she gets Avery back or not, then it'll be back onto Manny and Chris. Don't worry, I have a lot planned, so even though it may take awhile to get those chapters out, good stuff is coming. **


	8. What You Did

**Chapter Eight: What You Did**

Three days later, Paige was able to go home. She visited Avery at Manny's house every day. The worst part of her day was waiting for Manny to get home from work. Social Services had a rule that she could only visit her daughter when her guardian was present. After six long weeks, she got the phone call she was waiting for. Dr. Butler decided that she had suffered from post traumatic stress syndrome, and the only reason she wouldn't get better would be if Avery didn't come home with her. Everyone noticed that Paige was more upset than ever when she didn't have her daughter. So, when Avery was 5 months and 1 week old, she was able to go back to her mother.

"Manny, I'm so thankful that you watched over her while I got better," Paige said, hugging her.

"Don't worry about it. That's what friends are for," Manny told her. She had thrown a party for Paige and Avery, but everyone else had gone home. "So, are you glad that you're finally done with the psychologist?"

"Actually, I'm not done. Social Services informed me that it is mandatory for me to either attend a support group for teen mothers, one for depressed people, or go to Dr. Butler twice a month. I chose the last option," she explained. I go on the first and last day of every month for a year, maybe longer if he thinks I need to."

"That blows. Well, at least you're not being forced into a support group," Manny pointed out, but then looked at her watch. "I should probably go to bed now, I have school in the morning," she said, rolling her eyes.

"Goodnight Manny," Paige said.

"Night. And I'll miss you Avery," Manny said to the sleeping infant in her car seat.

"I'm sure she'll miss you too," Paige said, and left. Manny yawned, stretched, and went down to her room. The twins were already asleep in their cribs. And of course, Chris was asleep, stretched across the bed. Manny changed into her pajamas and pushed him over a little. She climbed into bed and snuggled up close to him. When he felt her body against his, he woke up a little, put his arm around her, and fell back to sleep.

"I love you," Manny whispered in his ear and closed her eyes.

* * *

"How was your first night with her?" Manny asked Paige. 

"It was great, it almost seemed like the first time I brought her home from the hospital," she replied.

"Oh my gosh Paige, I completely forgot to tell you something."

"What is it?" Paige asked.

"Chris and I are getting married!" she squealed.

"What? When?" she asked excitedly.

"Well, I told him that it wouldn't be until after we graduate. It will make things too complicated if we do it now," Manny explained.

"Yeah like Haley and Nathan on One Tree Hill."

"Paige! That's television! Although, you do have a point there. I love that show," Manny said, laughing. "Shoot! I have to go. It's almost time for me to be at work. I'll talk to you later. Bye!" she said, hanging up the phone.

"Did I hear you right?" Jimmy asked from across the room. "You're getting married?"

"Yeah, we are."

"Congratulations," he told her.

"Thanks, but I really have to go to work now! Don't forget, Chris will be home soon, and Jason and Heather took the kids on a trip for the weekend, so they won't be back until tomorrow night," she said.

"I know. It sucks that they're making you work on a Saturday," Jimmy told her.

"Yeah, but it's only this one time. I told Jessica that I'd work for her because she's sick," Manny said, and walked toward her kids. "Bye babies, mommy loves you," she said, kissing them both on top of their heads. "Bye Jimmy! Thanks again for coming on such short notice!" She ran up the stairs and left for work.

Jimmy looked at the clock. It was ten on a Saturday morning and he was babysitting. He wished he was playing basketball instead, but he loved spending time with Lily and Lucas. "Oh man you two; I can't believe your mommy is getting married. I really like her a lot. I'm only telling you this because you can't talk," he said to them. As if on cue, both babies started to cry. "Okay, who's hungry?" he asked them and brought them upstairs to feed them.

About an hour later, when they were both fed, Jimmy brought them into the living room and put a video on that Manny told him they liked to watch. They soon fell asleep and he just left the video on and held them. A few minutes later, Chris got home.

"Hey man," he said to Jimmy. "Thanks for watching them today. Do you need a ride home?"

"Nah, that's okay. I think I'm gonna walk down to the courts and play some basketball," Jimmy said. "Thanks anyway." He handed the twins to Chris and left. Chris brought them downstairs and put them both in their cribs. He took the baby monitor with him and went upstairs to take a shower.

As he was getting out of the shower, Chris heard Lily crying on the monitor. He threw some boxers and shorts on, and made his way downstairs. When he got to the bottom of the stairs, she stopped crying. He thought he could hear a voice on the monitor, so he turned it up. He was walking into the kitchen when he heard it again. "It's okay baby. I'm right here," someone said. Chris' eyes widened. He didn't know who it was, but it definitely wasn't Manny. He ran down the stairs to his room.

"What are you doing here?" he asked angrily.

"She was crying. I knew you were ignoring her," Craig said to him. He was standing next to Lily's crib and holding her.

"Put her down and get out!" Chris yelled. "Or I'll have to…"

"You'll what? Call the police? And what are you going to tell them?"

"That you're violating your restraining order."

"That would work, but I'm actually not. I have every right to be here. The restraining order says that I can't be near Manny. It doesn't say anything about the babies. And look, Manny's not here, she's at work," Craig smirked.

"Put my daughter down!" Chris yelled. Craig actually listened, and put Lily back in her crib.

"Now what Chris?" he asked. "You gonna come after me?" That was exactly what Chris intended on doing. He started towards Craig, but stopped when Craig pulled something out of his pocket.

"No Chris. Don't take another step. I'll use this, and say it was self defense. Works every time," Craig said, pointing the gun at Chris. "Of course, I intend on using it anyway."

"Is that why you came here Craig? To kill me?" Chris asked. He was getting very nervous. Craig took a few steps towards him, and he backed away.

"This is all your fault Chris. You destroyed my chance with Manny. We had something great until you came along. If it wasn't for you, those babies would be mine," he said, motioning towards the cribs. "And if you die, I'll be their father."

"That will never happen Craig. No matter what you do, Manny will never love you!" Chris yelled. Craig laughed.

"After what you did to her, you think she loves you?"

"We're getting married," Chris said.

"Yeah, for the babies' sake. I know what you did to her after they were born. I even know where you went, and I know what you did there. After I kill you, I'll tell her what you did and she'll come running back to me," Craig explained.

"You don't know what you're talking about!"

"Oh I don't? Let's see. You went to New York City and stayed with your friend. What was his name?" Craig pretended to think. "Oh yeah, Mike. And you were with that girl. I know what you did with her, and I'm going to tell Manny. She'll hate you so much and be glad that you're dead!" Craig spat. Chris looked at him with a blank face.

"You followed me?" he asked.

"That's not important," Craig answered. Just then, Lucas started to cry. Craig turned around for a second to see what was wrong, and Chris knew it was his only chance. He lunged at Craig and tried to grab the gun away. Surprised, Craig turned and noticed that Chris had missed. The two were struggling, and Chris was trying to get the gun away from Craig. After a minute, the gun went off. The shot rang through the air and Craig's eyes widened. He watched as Chris fell to the floor. Chris tried to get up, but clutched onto his knee where the bullet hit him. Craig lifted the gun again, aimed, and shot Chris, who fell back against the floor.

Craig ran up the stairs, out of the house, and kept running until he got home. He hid the gun in his bedroom and sat down on the bed. "I did it!" he yelled victoriously. "I killed him!"

"Craig, what are you talking about?" Angela asked as she appeared in the doorway. "Who did you kill?"

"Oh hey Angela. I didn't know you were here. I was just playing a video game," Craig lied.

"Oh. Well Daddy told me to tell you that we're going shopping for stuff to make dinner with."

"Okay, I'll see you later," Craig said. She left the room and he let out a sigh of relief. He lay down on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. "I'll be with you soon Manny," he whispered to himself.


	9. Police Line Do Not Cross

**Chapter Nine: Police Line- Do Not Cross**

"Bye Manny," her boss said as she left work. She looked at her watch. It was 2 pm. She pulled her cell phone out of her purse and dialed her house number. The phone rang a bunch of times and the answering machine picked up. _He should have been home from work two hours ago,_ she thought to herself. _And if he wasn't home, Jimmy would have picked up._ She got in her truck and drove home as fast as she could. For some reason, she knew something was wrong. When she got to the end of her street she could see the flashing lights. There was a group of people standing outside the house. She pulled into the driveway and jumped out of the truck, pushing past all the people.

"Ma'am, you can't go into the house," an officer said, putting his arm out to block her.

"I live here!" she yelled, pushing past him. She could hear the babies crying from the basement. She ran into the house and when she got to the basement door, it was wide open, with yellow 'Police Line Do Not Cross' tape stretched across it. She ducked under the tape and ran down the stairs. There were detectives and crime scene investigators swarming her room. "I need to get to my children!" she yelled and they let her by. When she was almost to the cribs, she stopped. "Whose blood is that?" she cried, pointing to the two pools of blood staining the carpet.

"Christopher Hawkins," a detective answered her.

"Is he d-dead?" she asking, choking back tears.

"We're not sure yet. About a half hour ago, he was rushed to the hospital. He lost a lot of blood." Upon hearing the man's answer, Manny leaned forward and threw up on the carpet.

"Somebody get her out of here!" the detective yelled. Another man came up to Manny and put his arms on her shoulders, steering her away from the blood.

"Wait!" she yelled at him. "Let me get my children!" He let go of her and she walked over to the cribs and picked Lucas up. He was screaming at the top of his lungs. "Can you get her?" she asked the man, motioning towards Lily. He picked the baby up and followed Manny over to the baby room. She got their car seats out of it, strapped them both in, and made her way back upstairs. She put the babies in the truck and climbed in once again.

Outside, an officer offered to escort her to the hospital. He drove in front of her with his sirens on, and she didn't have to stop at any red lights. She ran into the hospital, a car seat in each hand, and took the elevator to the third floor.

"I'm looking for Christopher Hawkins," she said frantically to the person sitting behind the desk.

"Let me check," the woman said, typing the name into the computer. "I have no record of him," she said, shrugging her shoulders. "Sorry." Manny sat down on a nearby chair and placed the twins (in their car seats) on the floor. Her head hung down and she began to cry.

"Where else could he be? They said he came to the hospital a half hour ago," she said out loud to herself.

"He's in surgery Manny," a voice above her right shoulder said. She looked up and wiped her eyes.

"Jimmy? What are you doing here?" she asked him, confused. Her eyes suddenly widened. "You didn't…" Before she could finish he cut her off.

"Of course not, how can you think that?" he said angrily.

"I'm sorry; I just didn't know why you'd be here…"

"Your neighbor who called 911 also called me. She said she didn't know your work number, but she had my number because I'm the babysitter. So I came," he explained.

"I'm so glad you're here," Manny said, throwing her arms around him. "Have you seen him? Is he going to be okay?" she asked.

"I don't know Manny," he told her, pulling away and looking into her eyes. "We have to wait for the doctor." After about an hour and a half of waiting, Manny saw Chris on a gurney. She ran up to him, leaving Jimmy with the twins. She was about to say something to him when she realized that he wasn't awake.

"How is he?" she immediately asked Dr. Anis. It was the same doctor that took care of Paige.

"Chris came to us in critical condition. He had a gunshot wound to his left knee. The bullet went into his kneecap and shattered it. A second bullet went into his chest, and luckily missed his heart by only about two centimeters. He lost a lot of blood and needed a transfusion as soon as he got here. The bullet near his heart was removed and did not cause any severe damage. However, we were unable to repair his kneecap…" he trailed off.

"What does that mean?" Manny asked.

"At his age, Chris is too young to have an artificial kneecap. Those only last a number of years, and could eventually cause infection. With the consent of both of his parents, we chose to amputate." Manny let the doctor's words soak in for a minute.

"H-how much of his leg did you take?" she asked, stuttering.

"We had to start one inch above his knee," the doctor informed her.

"So he just has one leg now?" she asked, starting to cry again. She was sad for her boyfriend. She knew he loved sports and wanted to be able to play with his children. With only one leg, that would be next to impossible.

"Fortunately for him, his parents have excellent insurance. As soon as he is ready, he will be fitted for a prosthetic leg. The leg is robotic, and bends naturally at the knee. It is very expensive, but the insurance will cover it. It cannot get wet, so he will have to remove it in the shower."

"When can I see him?" Manny asked.

"You can go in whenever you are ready," Dr. Anis told her. "You may want to check with his parents first, they're in the waiting room."

"Thank you so much Doctor," Manny said and walked away. Jimmy followed her with the twins to the waiting room where Mr. and Mrs. Hawkins were. She filled him in on the doctor's explanation on the way. When she got to the waiting room, she told his parents that he was out of surgery. They went into his room for ten minutes, and then allowed Manny to be alone with him. He still wasn't awake when she went in. Jimmy stayed in the waiting room with the twins so she could have some privacy. He knew that she really needed it.

**A/N: All the stuff about the artificial kneecap is true…a friend of our family had one and it got infected (he's about 85 though, and they had to replace it). It's too risky for a teenager. And a guy with a robotic leg like that spoke in one of my classes…it cost $50,000! That's why I had the insurance cover it (I don't think they normally would). Review!**


	10. Hope

**Chapter Ten: Hope**

**A/N: The italics that have quotation marks around them indicate that Manny is singing.**

"Oh Chris," Manny whispered as she sat next to him. She knew he was asleep but she wanted to talk to him anyway. "Who would do something like this to you?" She began to cry and put her head down onto his shoulder. "I was so scared that I might lose you. I can't lose you," she cried harder. Her tears were soaking his hospital gown, but she didn't care. She clasped both of her hands around his left hand. She was determined to stay until he woke up. With nothing left to say, she closed her eyes and started to sing to him.

"_The strands in your eyes that color them wonderful  
__Stop me and steal my breath  
__Emeralds from the mountains thrust towards the sky  
__Never revealing their depth  
__Tell me that we belong together  
__Dress it up with the trappings of love  
__I'll be captivated; I'll hang from your lips  
__Instead of the gallows of heartache that hang from above.  
__I'll be your crying shoulder  
__I'll be love suicide  
__I'll be better when I'm older  
__I'll be the greatest fan of your life." _

Manny stopped singing for a minute, because she thought she felt Chris' hand move. She opened her eyes, lifted her head, and saw him smiling at her.

"That's our song," he whispered and kissed her lightly.

"Chris!" she yelled excitedly after their lips parted. "Who did this to you?" she demanded.

"It was…" he trailed off. He looked her straight in the eyes and sighed. "Craig," he finished.

"WHAT?" she yelled angrily. Chris explained everything that happened from the time he got home from work. Halfway through his story, Manny burst into tears. She couldn't believe that Craig came from college to try and kill Chris, and he'd almost succeeded. "He will pay for this!"

"Don't get so upset please. I don't feel good and all this yelling is making it worse."

"I'm sorry, but after what he did to me, he got off, and now this? He is not getting away with it this time. He almost killed you, and I'm so happy that he didn't, but he took your leg. He better go to jail this time," Manny said.

"Wait, he did what?" Chris asked, confused. "What about my leg?" He tried to sit up a little, but grabbed his chest where he had been shot. He pulled back the covers and gasped. "I couldn't feel it, but I just thought it was from surgery," he said. A single tear ran down his cheek. "Manny, I have no evidence that he shot me!" he said suddenly. "How will I prove this?"

"I just don't know," she replied.

"Well, what now? Will I be in a wheelchair or on crutches for the rest of my life? I won't be able to help out with the babies or anything…" Manny interrupted him.

"Don't say that! After a little while, you'll be back to your old self. The doctor told me that your parents' insurance company will pay for a prosthetic leg. It's robotic and bends naturally and everything. You'll be fitted for it when you are ready," she explained. Chris couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"Oh man," was all he said, resting his head in his hands.

"You should get some rest now. I'll send your parents in to see you first. I'm also going to call my neighbor. The police said that she called 911 so maybe she saw Craig or something," Manny told him. She kissed him and put his blankets back on him. "I love you," she said before leaving.

* * *

Manny brought the twins back to the hospital on Sunday and spent the day there with Chris. Heather, Jason, and the kids all went to visit him as soon as they got back from their trip. Manny had called them Saturday night to tell them what happened. On Monday, she had to go to school and work, but visited him after that. Heather offered to watch the twins because they were already asleep. 

"I have good news!" she shouted as she walked into his room. He was watching television and eating dinner.

"What is it?" he asked, shutting the TV off.

"Well, last night I called Mrs. Clayton next door. She told me that she saw Craig go into the house when she was outside walking her dog. Then, about a half hour later, she heard gunshots, so she looked out her window. She saw Craig running out of the house with a gun. That's when she called 911," Manny finished.

"So we have a witness?" Chris asked, excited.

"Yep, and there's more. Mrs. Clayton came to my house and I called the head detective on the case. He came right over and she told him that she saw Craig. So he got a search warrant and searched Craig's house. They found a gun with bullets that matched the ones you were shot with. Craig told them that it was your gun and you tried to shoot him, and he shot you in self defense. That didn't work because only his fingerprints were on it. They arrested him this morning, as soon as they got the lab results back. The court date is on Friday," she explained.

"He won't get away with it this time," Chris said. "With a witness and the evidence, he won't stand a chance. Plus, he probably won't have an alibi. I know Joey or Caitlin wouldn't lie for him."

"Don't worry; he'll finally get what he deserves," Manny told him.

"I love you so much Manny," he said and kissed her. "I also want to show you something."

"What?" she questioned. He pulled back his blankets to reveal his new leg. "Oh, I'm so happy for you. How does it feel?"

"It hurts a little at the top where it is attached, but Dr. Anis said that I'd get used to it," he explained. "I also get to go home tomorrow," he said happily.

"That's great!" Manny exclaimed. "What time can you leave?" she asked.

"Around noon."

"Well, I'll just have Heather write me a note, excusing me from school for a doctor's appointment and come pick you up. Then we can get Lily and Lucas from Spike's. I'll still have to go to work though," she pointed out.

"Jimmy will have to come when you go to work. I have to go to therapy every day for a month to learn how to walk with my new leg," he explained. "I can still go to school though. But I'll probably have to use crutches."

"What time is therapy?" Manny asked him.

"It's right after school. There's a van that will pick me up from DCS and bring me home when I'm done. I also talked to my boss at The Dot and he agreed to let me come back when I'm finished with the therapy."

"I am going to let you get some sleep now. I'll see you tomorrow at noon," she said. She hugged and kissed him goodbye.

Manny picked Chris up the next day. He refused to leave in the wheel chair that the nurse brought in for him. He told her that he was determined to walk out. He got some crutches and hobbled out, putting as little pressure on the leg as possible. He spent some time with the twins and Manny, and then she went to work. He pretended to be asleep the entire time that Jimmy was babysitting because he didn't really want to talk to him. Sure, they'd been friendly with each other, but he was still afraid that Manny might have some kind of feelings for him.

On Wednesday and Thursday, Chris went to school. He stayed on the crutches, and no one even suspected that he had a fake leg. Just for fun, when he was at lunch, he made it so the leg was bent the opposite way at the knee and stuck up in the air. A few people were grossed out and some screamed, but he still didn't tell anyone that it wasn't real. The only people who knew were Jimmy, Emma, and Manny. Paige and Marco knew, but they obviously didn't go to DCS anymore.

Friday finally came. Manny and Emma took the day off of school to go to court. Marco took the day off as well to be there for his best friend, and Paige went with him. The twins stayed with Spike, and Avery was with Paige's mom.

Craig was charged for attempted murder and was pleading 'not guilty.' Throughout the trial, he kept looking over his shoulder at Manny and smirking at her. One time he licked his lips and she almost had to leave the room to throw up.

"Don't let him get to you Manny," Emma whispered to her.

"Yeah, he's just being an asshole," Paige whispered on her other side.

Manny wasn't really paying attention to anything that anyone was saying. She was thinking about how happy she would be when Craig was sent away to prison. She also thought about what would happen if, for some reason, he got away with what he did. The only times that she did listen were when Chris and then Craig took the stand. Chris told his story just as he had told Manny and everyone else. When Craig went up, he completely lied, just as he had for the rape trial. He said that he was at school that day, but when he was asked if he had a witness, he said no. Mrs. Clayton testified and Chris' lawyer showed the evidence to the court. Joey also testified as a character witness for Craig. After about five hours, it was finally time to hear the verdict.

"I'm so nervous. I don't know what I'll do if he gets away with this," Manny said, desperately trying not to cry.

"That's not gonna happen," Paige reassured her.

"Yeah, he has no alibi, and Chris has a witness and evidence. Stop worrying," Emma said. They all turned to face the man who was reading the verdict.

"For the attempted murder of Christopher Hawkins, we, the people of the jury, find the defendant, Craig Manning, guilty."

Manny breathed a huge sigh of relief, and ran up to Chris. She hugged him and kissed him a few times.

"Craig Manning, you are sentenced to twelve years in prison," the judge informed him.

Manny turned to look at Craig, and this time, it was her turn to smirk at him. Her smirk really must have pissed him off because he started screaming.

"Oh yeah?" he yelled. "Well guess what? I did rape that little bitch and she deserved it!"

"Get him out of here!" the judge yelled to the Court Marshals. They did as they were told, handcuffed Craig, and led him out of the room. When the chaos died down in the courtroom, everyone turned to see Manny bawling her eyes out.

"Don't let him get to you. He's an asshole," Chris said, hugging her.

"I know, it's just that when he said that, I broke down," she explained. "Everything I tried so hard to forget just came rushing back to me. With Mr. Oleander in jail, and Craig in college, and everything that's been happening, I was able to put it all at the back of my mind."

"Well, he's gone now. You can forget all about him," Emma said, patting her back. Manny let go of Chris and wiped her eyes.

"I know, and I'm so grateful for that. Let's get out of here and celebrate," she said. They all left and decided to pick the babies up and go to The Dot. Chris was now walking smoothly with the aid of his crutches, now that he had gotten used to them. He still could not put very much pressure on his leg, or he would fall. Manny smiled as she watched him walk to the car. She was just glad that he was going to be okay.

**A/N: The song Manny sings in the hospital is "I'll Be" by Edwin McCain. He owns the song, not me. Well? What are you waiting for? Review! **


	11. Buried Secrets

**Chapter 11: Buried Secrets**

**A/N: The main context of this chapter occurs about three months later, so the babies are eight months old. **

Once the weekend was over, Manny and Chris went back to their normal lifestyle, with the exception of Chris' therapy. He was getting better every day, and by the time his month of therapy was over, he could walk as if he never lost his leg in the first place. Chris did not allow himself, or anyone else for that matter, feel sorry for him. He was simply grateful to be alive and able to be with his fiancé and children every day.

From time to time, he would think about what Craig had told him. _I know what you did to her after they were born._ Those words rang out in his head over and over again. Sometimes he thought that maybe he should tell Manny and get it over with, but he decided to let the secret stay buried. It wouldn't do anyone much good to tell.

It was a Saturday afternoon, and Chris was sitting with Manny in the living room. He was holding his eight-month-old son and daughter. Manny was looking through their small pile of mail, which consisted mostly of doctor and car insurance bills, when she noticed an envelope with Spinner's return address. She quickly opened it and was very surprised at what she saw. That very same instant, the phone rang. She picked up the cordless phone next to her and answered it.

"Hello?"

"Manny! It's me!"

"Oh, hey Paige," Manny said.

"Did you get an invitation from Spinner?" Paige asked.

"I was just looking at it and about to call you," she told her truthfully.

"I cannot believe that Spinner and Hazel are getting married!" she yelled into the phone. "If it's not bad enough that they both disowned me when I found out that I was pregnant, now they're inviting me to their wedding? I'm so mad right now!"

"You still like Spinner, don't you?" Manny asked.

"Well, I was in love with him for a long time. Then the whole thing with Matt happened, but that was only because I thought that Spinner didn't like me. I never told you this, but after we graduated, he told me that we had a chance and he still loved me when I was with Matt. But he knew that if I had a baby that things would be different. When I told him that I was keeping Avery, he said that he couldn't raise a baby right now. Then I told him that if he really loved me that he'd give us all a chance, but he went off to college," she explained. "I'm not sure if I still love him. I mean, he moved on with my best friend. And they're getting married after being together for God knows how long. It's crazy!"

"Well, my advice is that if you do love Spinner, you should be happy for him and support him. I think we should all go to the wedding," Manny told her.

"Maybe you're right, but the only reason I'm going is to prove that I'm fine without him. Well, and I want to buy a new dress. I've only got two weeks to shop!" she said, laughing. Manny laughed too, but then the twins started to cry.

"I gotta go. I'll talk to you later!" Manny said. "Bye."

"What was that all about?" Chris asked as he handed Lucas over to Manny.

"Hazel and Spinner are getting married, and we're invited to the wedding."

"What?" Chris said. "That is the weirdest couple I've ever heard of."

"Yeah, no kidding. They both went to the same college, and probably developed feelings for each other," Manny told him. They walked into the kitchen to make dinner for the twins. When Lily and Lucas were six months old, they made the transition from baby food to solid foods, but only cereals, mashed potatoes, and soft cooked fruits and vegetables. Manny mostly pumped breast milk into bottles by now, so it was easier for the babies to be fed when she was gone. By now they ate chopped up chicken and hot dogs.

"That's really bizarre. When's the wedding?" he asked.

"Two weeks. I was thinking we could all go shopping together next weekend," Manny suggested. She was now finishing mincing their chicken. She and Chris put them in their high chairs and began to feed them.

"That works," Chris said.

* * *

The next weekend, Paige, Manny, Chris, Marco, and Dylan went shopping for their outfits. Dylan and Marco came from college. They brought Lily, Lucas, and Avery with them too. The past week was Chris' first week back to work. 

"So, how was it going back to work?" Marco asked Chris as they walked into Petals and Promises, a bridal shop nearby.

"It was great. It felt like I had never left," Chris answered.

The girls separated from the guys in search of dresses. All the guys were going to get plain old black tuxedos. They just needed to find their sizes. Chris took Lucas, Dylan took Lily, and Marco had Avery with him. They were all in their strollers, so the guys took turns watching them while they tried different sizes on. After about twenty minutes, all three of them had their suits and paid for them. They went to find the girls, who hadn't picked out anything yet.

After an hour and a half, the girls found the perfect dresses. Manny's dress was strapless and a light green color. It hugged her curves and flared out at the bottom. Paige's dress was similar, but was coral colored and had one strap across her right shoulder. The girls paid for their dresses and they all headed to Target.

Manny and Paige bought dresses for Lily and Avery that matched but were different colors. Lily's dress was purple and Avery's was pink. Manny also bought a little suit and tie for Lucas.

* * *

The week went by quickly and it was finally time to go to the wedding. Even though Spinner and Hazel were going to college in Boston in the states, they decided to have the wedding back in Toronto. It was at Spinner's church. 

"It looks so beautiful in here," Manny commented as they sat down. There was a side for Spinner's family and a side for Hazel's family and they chose to sit on Spinner's side. They sat in the third row. Paige chose this because she did love Spinner and was mad at Hazel for marrying him, but she didn't tell anyone that was the reason. Manny noticed Jimmy sitting a few rows behind them. She called his name and motioned for him to sit with them. He sat at the end of the pew, next to Paige.

"Maybe she's pregnant," Paige said.

"Or maybe they're in love," Manny said, shrugging.

"I don't think so," she argued. "They couldn't be in love this fast."

"Paige, I thought you were going to be supportive here," Chris said.

"Actually, Paige is right," Jimmy spoke up. "Well, sort of."

"What do you mean?" Manny asked.

"Well, I talk to Spinner usually every weekend. He told me that there was a crazy party in his dorm and him and Hazel ended up having sex. She got pregnant and when they told their parents, her dad flipped out and said that they had to get married," he explained in a whisper.

"When did this happen?" Paige asked with a disgusted look on her face.

"Two months ago," Jimmy answered. "But Spinner did tell me that he had feelings for her and she liked him back before they ever had sex."

"Oh please, Spinner was just looking for ass. And Hazel was probably desperate," Paige said.

"Paige, stop being so bitter. You know how hard it is to have an unplanned pregnancy, and now Hazel is going through the same thing," Chris pointed out. He was a little sick of her bickering.

"By the way, don't mention this at all for the rest of the day while we're here. Only Spinner and Hazel's parents know about the baby. Well, and me and you three. But Hazel doesn't even know that Spinner told me," Jimmy told them.

"We promise not to say anything," Manny told him. Chris nodded his head. "Right Paige?"

"Fine, I won't," she said through gritted teeth. Right then the music started and the flower girl started walking down the aisle. Paige had just noticed that Spinner had been standing at the altar ever since they had arrived. She looked at him and saw him smiling at her. She gave him the most fake smile she could muster up and looked away. By then, the bridesmaids had all walked down and Hazel was now walking. Paige stood up with everyone else, but wouldn't look at her. Since she was only two months pregnant, she wasn't showing, and no one would suspect that she was.

Throughout the wedding, Paige didn't pay attention to anything that the priest was saying. She only wanted to hear them say 'I Do.' A part of her was hoping that he wouldn't say it. That he'd just come back to her. She was snapped out of her own little daydream when the words actually came.

"I do." Paige looked up and noticed that it was only Hazel who'd said it. _There's still hope with Spinner._

"Gavin Mason, do you take Hazel as your lawfully wedded wife? To have and to hold, to love and to cherish, in sickness and in health, until death do you part?" the priest asked.

"I…" Paige closed her eyes. But he didn't say anything. She opened them again and realized that he was looking at her. She looked down at Avery who was asleep in her arms.

_I still love her. She's so beautiful with her daughter,_ Spinner thought to himself as he looked at the love of his life. _What am I thinking? I got Hazel pregnant and I have to stand up to my responsibilities. Besides, my chance is gone._ Paige was smiling at Spinner but Hazel was glaring at him.

_I don't believe it! He still wants to be with her! _Hazel yelled inside her head.

Spinner smiled at Paige again and shook his head. He turned back to Hazel, still smiling and finished his sentence, "…do."

"I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride." Spinner leaned down and kissed Hazel lightly. She smiled at him and they held hands as they walked back down the aisle and outside.

_Dammit!_ Paige screamed in her head. She got up and stormed out of the church and got into her car. She buckled Avery in her car seat, put her head onto the side of it, and cried.

**A/N: I stole the Petals and Promises name from BlueEyedDolly's story (the sequel to A Nightmare Returns). I'm not sure if it is a real place or not but B.E.D. if you are mad at me, I will change it…I just liked the name a lot. **


	12. Past Experiences

**Chapter Twelve: Past Experiences **

Manny, Chris, and Jimmy followed Paige to her car. Manny handed Lucas over to Jimmy and sat down in the backseat next to Paige. She put her arms around her and hugged her.

"It's gonna be okay," she told her.

"Manny I still love him," Paige whispered, still crying.

"I know Paige, but you don't need him. He has an obligation to be with Hazel and their baby. From his big pause in there, it's obvious that he loves you too. He just has to be with his baby."

"They didn't have to get married!" Paige screamed. While Manny talked to her, Jimmy and Chris were putting the twins in their car seats in Manny's truck.

"We don't have to go to the reception," Manny told her. Paige sat up a little and wiped her eyes.

"Yeah we do. I don't want him to know how I feel right now. I have to pretend that nothing happened. I just need a few minutes to fix my makeup. I'll meet you guys there," she said.

"Okay, see you there," Manny agreed. She left the car and went back to her truck. "Hey Jimmy, how did you get here?" she asked him.

"I walked, it's not too far from my apartment," he said. He had his own place that his parents paid for ever since he was emancipated from them.

"Well, do you want a ride to the reception with us?" she asked.

"Sure, thanks," he replied. He got into the back of the truck, in between the twins' car seats. Chris and Manny got into the car and drove off.

* * *

"You're finally here!" Marco said to Paige as she entered the room. He found Manny, Chris, and the twins about ten minutes after the reception started. It had been going on for almost an hour, and Paige had just shown up. 

"Yes, I'm here," she said proudly. She handed Avery to Marco and walked past him, right up to Spinner and Hazel. "Congratulations!" she yelled, hugging them both. Then she walked back to her friends and took Avery.

"Paige, I want you to meet someone. He's really cute," Marco whispered in her ear and led her away.

"Marco, I don't know if I'm up for meeting someone right now…" she stopped talking when she noticed a guy looking at her. He smiled, and she smiled back. She realized that this was the guy Marco wanted her to meet when they stopped right in front of him. Marco nudged her. "Hi, I'm Paige," she said, extending her hand.

"I'm Jake," he said, shaking it.

"How do you know Marco?" she asked him.

"I've known him since we were little. We used to live next door to each other and then he moved. But now I've moved into an apartment here in Toronto," he explained. Jake was an inch taller than Paige and had brown hair and blue eyes. "And who's this?" he asked, tickling the baby. She laughed and Paige laughed with her.

"This is my daughter Avery," she told him. She was afraid that the minute he heard that she was her daughter, he'd walk away.

"Aw she's so cute," Jake said. "I love kids."

"Yeah me too," Paige agreed.

"Would you mind if I asked where her father is?"

"He's gone. It's a long story, but all I want to say is that he's not in our life at all, and never will be," she said.

"Oh, I'm sorry…" Jake started to say.

"No, don't be. It's really okay," she said.

"Can I hold her?" he asked.

"Sure." Paige handed her over to him.

"I think I'll leave you two alone," Marco said. He winked at Paige before walking away.

"So, do you know Hazel and Spinner? Or did you just come because of Marco?" she asked him.

"I don't know them at all actually. I called Marco up and told him that I moved here, and he told me to just come to the wedding because he wanted me to meet his beautiful best friend and goddaughter," Jake explained.

"He said that?" Paige asked. "That is so sweet."

"Well, I added the beautiful part," he said, a little embarrassed.

"Thanks," Paige said and blushed.

"How do you know Spinner and Hazel?"

"I have history with both of them. Spinner is my ex-boyfriend and Hazel is my ex-best friend. They both disowned me when I got pregnant. But I wasn't even with Spinner at the time. And then I was invited to their wedding randomly," she explained.

"I'd have to say that really sucks," he said and laughed nervously, afraid his comment might offend her.

"Yeah it does," she said and laughed with him. Just then Avery started to cry. Jake quickly handed her back to Paige as if he'd done something wrong. "She's probably just hungry. Do you want to come with me to find something for her to eat?"

"Sure, I don't have anything better to do," he said and followed her. Within a few minutes, they found the buffet table and noticed that pretty much everyone was sitting down, eating. They missed the best man's speech, but didn't really care. They got some food and found Manny, Chris, and Jimmy's table. There was an extra high chair there for Avery.

"Guys, this is Jake," she said, introducing him. That's Jimmy, Manny, and Chris. They're my real friends. And that's Lily and Lucas, Chris and Manny's twins," she said, pointing to the babies.

"Hi Jake," they all said, in between stuffing their faces with food. Paige and Jake sat down and Paige put Avery in her high chair.

"Hi," he replied. "Wow, people here have kids at young ages," he commented.

"Yeah, it's a long story," Manny said.

"That's exactly what Paige said," Jake told her. "I'd like to hear those stories some time."

"So Jake, are you going to our school?" Jimmy asked.

"No, actually I graduated last year and moved here for a change in my life. I had to get away from my parents, and this was the farthest away I could find. I'm taking a year off of school and I'll probably find a college around here somewhere," he explained.

"I should have graduated last year," Jimmy informed him.

"Let me guess, long story?" Jake joked.

"Actually, I could sum it up. During my junior year, I was shot by this kid who came into the school for revenge. He thought I did something bad to him but it was actually Spinner and this other kid Jay. I was shot in the back and paralyzed, but I went through two years of extensive physical therapy, and missed too much of my senior year, so I had to do it again. But it's all good cause I get to hang out with these awesome people here," he finished.

"Wow, that's great. Well, I mean it's great that you can walk again," he said, correcting himself.

"I told him it was a miracle, but he didn't believe me," Manny said, laughing.

"Hey guys, what's up?" Marco asked as he and Dylan walked up, dragging chairs up to their table.

"Just talking about past experiences," Jimmy told him.

"Sounds like fun," Dylan said. As soon as he said this, some music started to play.

"Okay everyone, it's time for the bride and groom's first dance together," Spinner's best man announced. No one knew him except for Spinner and Hazel. Everyone watched them dance, and then another slow song was put on.

"May I have this dance?" Jake asked Paige.

"Of course, she said, taking his hand. Dylan and Marco got up to dance as well, and then Chris held his hand out to Manny.

"I guess I'll just watch the babies!" Jimmy yelled after them, but was pretty much ignored. He pulled the three high chairs closer to him and finished feeding them. Then he sat back in his chair, watching Manny dance with Chris, and sighed.

**A/N: There's gonna be I think only one more chapter concerning Paige and Jake, then there will be some more Manny drama! Tell me what you think. **


	13. You

**Chapter 13: You **

**A/N: Hey guys, just to let you know, chapter five of this story was uploaded all messed up and I fixed it. Also, Dr. Anis is pronounced Uh-Neese, not A-Niss as my friend likes to say. **

The couples danced to a few songs before returning to their table, where Jimmy had been kept waiting. Manny instantly noticed the frustrated look on his face.

"Thanks for watching them," she said. "Sorry that we left you here alone."

"Don't worry, I'm used to it by now," he said, angered.

"Well, to make up for it, would you like to dance?" she asked him.

"Sure," he answered, a smile forming. "I love this song." Manny dragged him out of his chair and onto the dance floor. Chris rolled his eyes.

"They spend too much time together," he commented, and took a sip of his drink.

"It's only one dance Chris. Chill out," Paige told him.

"I have an even better idea. Why don't you butt out? I didn't ask you anyway," Chris said.

"Leave her alone, she's right," Jake said, coming to Paige's defense.

"You don't even know enough about _any _of us, including Paige, to know what's going on. So you can mind your own business too," he spat.

Jake looked angry but before anyone could say anything else; Chris got up to refill his drink at the buffet table. When he got back, he pretended like nothing had happened and played with the twins, holding and tickling them. A minute later, Jimmy and Manny returned to the table, and Jimmy was reasonably happier. He looked at his watch, pretending to care what time it was.

"Hey Manny, I think we should get the twins back home. They're looking really tired," he lied, trying to think of any excuse to get her away from Jimmy.

"Yeah, you're right, it's almost six o'clock. That's actually late for them," she said. "Paige, call me tomorrow, Jake it was nice meeting you, and Dylan and Marco, I'm so glad you could come visit. It was great hanging out with all of you. Bye!" she yelled as they walked away. Chris didn't even say anything, he just left.

"What's his problem?" Jake asked as soon as Manny and Chris were gone.

"He's jealous of Jimmy. He probably thinks that Manny has a thing for him," Paige explained.

"But I would never do that to them. They have two kids and they're getting married," Jimmy said.

"We know you wouldn't, but Chris is just like that sometimes," Marco said. "He's still a great guy, he just needs a wake up call every once in a while."

"Okay, let's not sit and talk all about them tonight," Paige said. "Although I do have to add that I feel bad for Manny. I think she could do better, even if she loves him. Like Marco said, he is a great guy, but sometimes he just acts like a complete jerk."

"With all of that said, who would like another drink?" Dylan asked. After he said this, Avery started to cry.

"Guys, I'd love to stay, but I have to get her home," she said. "It's past her bedtime."

"That's what you get for having a kid," her brother joked.

"I may not have had her under the best circumstances, but I love her," Paige said, kissing Avery's cheek. "I'll see you guys later okay?" Jake stood up.

"It was nice meeting you Paige," he said.

"You too," she said and smiled. She picked Avery up and said goodbye to everyone else. As she was walking away, Jake noticed one of Avery's shoes lying on the floor. He picked it up, and without thinking, stuck it in his pocket. Jimmy noticed and spoke up.

"If you run, you can catch her and give that to her before she leaves," he told him.

"That's okay. I need an excuse to see her again," Jake explained. Marco smiled. He knew they'd be perfect for each other.

* * *

"Coming!" Paige yelled when she heard a knock on the door. She opened it and smiled. "Hey Jake. What are you doing here?" she asked. Ever since she had left the wedding the night before, he was all she thought about.

"This will probably sound dumb, but I'm returning Avery's shoe," he said, holding it out to her. She took it and smiled again.

"Thanks. I thought I lost it," she said. "Oh, would you like to come in?"

"Sure." Paige stepped aside and he walked into the house. "Where's Avery?" he asked.

"She's in the living room in her playpen. Do you want anything to drink?"

"I'll just have water," Jake answered her. Paige went into the kitchen, got two water bottles, and went back into the living room and found Jake sitting on the couch with Avery in his lap.

"She really likes you," she told Jake as she handed him a water bottle.

"I really like her too," he said and tickled the baby under her chin. Avery laughed and let herself fall forwards into Jake's chest. She stayed there, and as Paige and Jake watched her, she slowly fell asleep.

"Do you want me to put her in the playpen?" Paige asked him.

"Nah, she's fine right here. I don't want to move her and wake her up," he said. Paige was amazed at how well Jake did with her daughter. She had assumed that she'd never find anyone who would want to be with her since she had a child. Jake was staring into her eyes when she leaned in and kissed him. She sat back up and looked at him. When he didn't say anything, she spoke.

"I'm sorry…" she started to say.

"No, it's okay," Jake assured her and now it was his turn to kiss her. They kissed for what seemed like hours with the baby in between them.

_We would make a cute family,_ Paige thought to herself as she looked into his eyes.

"You know who else I really like?" Jake asked her.

"Who?" Paige questioned.

"You."

**A/N: I know it's a little short but whatever. It has taken so long for me to update because the website wasn't letting me log in for some odd reason. I also have not been able to leave reviews for any stories.**


	14. Phone Calls

**Chapter Fourteen: Phone Calls**

"I kissed him Manny! And then he kissed me back, and then…" Paige squealed into the phone.

"Whoa, slow down Paige. You're rambling," Manny told her.

"Sorry, but..."

"But what?" Manny asked.

"I think I'm in love," Paige finished.

"You just met the guy two days ago," Manny pointed out.

"Might I remind you that you fell in love with Chris the day you met him."

"You're right, but look where it got me. I'm a senior in high school, have two kids, and am getting married at the end of the year," she said.

"But you have to admit that you love Chris and your children and you've always dreamed of getting married," Paige told her.

"Okay, I admit it. But all I'm saying is that you shouldn't rush into things. Get to know him before you think you're in love."

"Manny? Is everything okay between you and Chris?" Paige asked.

"Yeah, why do you ask?" Manny replied.

"I don't know, it just seems like you're warning me because you think you've made a mistake or something…" she trailed off.

"Of course not," Manny said a little too defensively. "Hey, I gotta go, there's someone on my other line. I'll call you back later."

"Okay, bye," Paige said and hung up. Manny clicked over to the other line.

"Hello?"

"Hey Manny, it's me."

"Oh hi Em, what's up?"

"Not much, I just…" Emma began to say.

"What's wrong Emma?" Manny asked, a little worried.

"Nothing really. I just miss hanging out with my best friend. I mean, I know I've been out with JT a lot, but there are a lot of times when I'm sitting alone at home and I know you're probably sitting home too. I just feel like you only want to hang out with Paige and Jimmy," she finished.

"Oh Em! I didn't know you felt that way. I've just been busy with the twins and I went to Hazel and Spinner's wedding. Listen, Chris, Jason, and Heather are all at work. I have the twins, Quinn, and Anthony. Jayden and Caleb are over their friend's house. Why don't you come over, as long as you don't mind helping out," Manny said.

"I don't mind at all, but I have to bring Jack with me because I'm babysitting too," Emma said.

"Actually that's great. Anthony will have someone to play with," Manny told her. "I'll see you in a few."

"Bye," Emma said and hung up. About fifteen minutes later, she walked into the house, with a sleeping Jack curled up in her arms. "Sorry it took me so long," she whispered, careful not to wake him. "But since Mom is at work and Snake went out, I didn't have a car to drive over in," she explained.

"If the kids weren't all sleeping and I could fit everyone in my truck, I would have picked you up," Manny told her.

"That's okay. Can you take him while I get the stroller?" she asked. Manny lifted Jack out of her arms and laid him down on the couch in the living room. Emma went outside and dragged the stroller up the steps and stored it in the closet by the door. She covered Jack up with a blanket and then followed Manny into the kitchen.

"I'm really glad that you called Emma. I've been needing to talk to someone and I didn't really want to talk to Paige about it, and I know I can't talk to Jimmy about it because it wouldn't be right to," Manny began.

"What is it?" Emma asked, concerned.

"Don't get me wrong, I love Chris and our children but…" she trailed off. She wasn't sure if she could finish the sentence.

"But what Manny? Come on, you know you can tell me."

"It just seems like he's a completely different person from the day I met him. He's been acting really weird all of a sudden. Well, really since Craig shot him. I know he's not afraid that Craig will come back or anything like that, but I think it might be something that Craig said to him the day he came over," Manny paused. "I'm just really worried about him."

"Have you tried talking to him about it?" Emma asked. "It always helps to talk."

"Yeah, I have. I asked him a few times, but he either got really mad or really sad and he wouldn't talk to me. He's hiding something from me Em. I just know he is," Manny finished, beginning to cry.

"Don't cry Manny," Emma said and hugged her best friend. "I think you need to tell him how all of this is making you feel," she told her.

"I guess I could try that. But a part of me almost doesn't want to know. A part of me thinks it's horrible and it will ruin my life." Before Emma could say anything more to console Manny, the phone rang. Manny looked on the caller ID and it read 'unknown caller.' She answered it, thinking that maybe it was Chris from work.

"Hello?"

"Hi, is Chris there?" a girl's voice on the other end asked.

"No, he's at work. Who is this?" Manny asked.

"This is Sera. Can you just tell him that I called?"

"Sure." Manny said and the girl hung up. "Okay that was really weird," she said, turning to Emma.

"Who was it?" Emma asked.

"Some girl named Sera. She was asking for Chris. I've never heard of her," Manny explained. Before she could try to work out in her mind who this girl could be, Anthony came running into the room.

"Quinn is crying," he said. At the same time, one of the twins started to cry over the baby monitor.

"If I get the twins can you get Quinn?" Manny asked Emma.

"No problem," Emma replied.

* * *

"How was your day?" Manny asked Chris as he sat down on the couch in their room. 

"Pretty boring. Nothing unusual or exciting. Although someone at work fell on his face when he tripped overmyfoot," he replied. Manny let a nervous laugh escape her mouth. "What did you do today?" he asked her.

"I babysat Quinn and Anthony. Emma brought Jack over and we all went to the park for a little while," she told him. "And I got a somewhat strange phone call today. Well, it was for you actually."

"Really? Who was it?" Chris asked.

"Some girl…" Manny trailed off. "Who is Sera?" she asked. Chris answered without hesitation, perhaps a little too quickly.

"Just a friend from New York," he told her.

"Why would she be calling you?"

"I have no idea," he said and shrugged.

"Oh. Well, she sounded a little upset," Manny lied, hoping that maybe he would tell her something.

"That's weird." He turned to Manny and saw the worry in her eyes. "You have nothing to worry about, trust me," he said and kissed her.

"I do trust you," she said and kissed him again. She pulled him on top of her and they made out until Lily and Lucas woke up. They got up to continue on with their lifetime jobs as parents.

**A/N: Just in case anyone is confused, Sera is pronounced Sarah, I just like it spelled that way. Don't worry; there are more exciting things to come. **


	15. He's Yours

**Chapter Fifteen: He's Yours **

Three months had passed since the mysterious phone call from Sera. Chris had never called her back, and she never called the house after that. Lily, Lucas, and Avery were all eleven months old. Manny, Chris, and Jimmy (as well as Emma, JT, and everyone else) were graduating in three days.

"This year passed so quickly," Manny said to Emma as they ate burgers at The Dot.

"I know! And just think, in one month, the twins will be a year old," Emma exclaimed. Lily and Lucas were with Jason back at their house. Chris sat down next to Manny and shoved a french fry in his mouth.

"Shouldn't you be working?" Manny joked and kissed him.

"I'm on a break," he said, and kissed her again.

"Get a room!" Emma said, laughing. "On second thought, don't, because two kids is enough for you!"

"Chris!" Spinner yelled. "We have customers, get back here!" He came from around the counter. "Oh, hey Paige," he said when he noticed who it was.

"Spinner," she said, simply acknowledging his presence. Then she did a double take. "Wait, what are you doing here?" she asked.

"School is out for the summer, so Hazel and I came back home to have the baby," he explained. Paige pretended to be confused, but Spinner shook his head. "It's okay, Jimmy told me that you guys know."

"Well, this is Jake, my boyfriend," she told him, stressing the word 'boyfriend.' "I met him at your wedding." Spinner gave Jake a weird look and then shook his hand. It was almost as if he was jealous for a minute. He also noticed that Jake was holding Avery.

"Nice to meet you Jake," he said. "But I gotta get back to work." He smiled at them both and walked back behind the counter. In their booth, Chris stood up, Emma moved over to Manny's side, and they invited Paige and Jake to sit with them. Paige pulled a high chair up for Avery and they sat down, with Jake closer to the baby so he could feed her.

"Aren't they so cute together?" Paige asked Manny and Emma. Both girls nodded and smiled. Chris came back over to take Paige and Jake's order.

"We'll take whatever they're having," Paige said, after consulting with her boyfriend.

"Okay, that'll be right up. Anything for Avery?" he asked before walking away.

"Just an order of chicken fingers; they're her favorite," Jake told him.

"You got it," Chris said and walked away to put their order in. He returned less than five minutes later with their food. "Enjoy," he told them. "Manny, I'm going to be home late tonight, Spinner just asked me to stay and help clean the place up."

"Okay, have fun," she said and kissed him one last time. Then she nudged Emma and they both stood up. "I really have to get back to the twins. I'll see you guys later," she said.

"Bye Manny, bye Emma," Jake said. Paige echoed him and after Emma waved, they left. As they were walking out of the restaurant, a beautiful Hispanic girl bounced in past them.

"I've never seen her before," Manny commented before they got into her truck.

"Must be new here," Emma said and shrugged it off. They drove away, unsuspecting of what was about to happen.

* * *

Back inside The Dot, Chris noticed the girl walking in and gasped.

"Spinner, I'm not here," he whispered and ducked into the back room.

"Hi, can I talk to Chris please?" the girl asked Spinner. "I called his house and I was told that he was at work here."

"Yeah, just a minute, he's in the back," Spinner said, pointing over his shoulder at the door. "Hey Chris!" he yelled. "There's a girl here to see you!" Chris came out from the room and the girl's face lit up. Before Spinner walked away, Chris swiftly kicked him in the shin for not helping him out.

"Hey Chris," the girl said.

"Hi Sera. What are you doing here?" he asked. From their table, Paige eyed Chris suspiciously. She noticed that he felt uncomfortable talking to this girl, whoever she was. Just when she thought things might get good, Spinner's body blocked her view. Paige glared at him.

"What do you want Spin?" she asked through gritted teeth. The look on Spinner's face was full of hurt.

"He waved me over," Spinner told her, pointing at Jake.

"Yeah, Avery's getting a little restless, so I thought we might take this 'to go' and finish it at home. Plus, we'll have some privacy once she falls asleep," Jake explained.

"That sounds great," Paige said and smirked at Spinner. He rolled his eyes at her and walked away. Sometimes she could be such a bitch. He came back over with containers for their food and the bill. Jake paid and they gathered the food and Avery and headed out the door. Paige quickly looked over her shoulder to see Chris standing and staring at the girl, as if he didn't know what to say. Paige sighed as she realized that she wouldn't be able to see what happened between the two of them. They too drove away towards home.

* * *

Chris was standing across from Sera uncomfortably. He kept shifting from one foot to the other.

"You still haven't said why you're here," he told her.

"I _really_ need to talk to you," she replied. "In private," she added.

"Well, I'm busy here," Chris told her and wiped away at a fake stain on the counter. Sera looked around and noticed that The Dot was completely empty.

"Fine, if you won't talk to me right now, I'm going to wait in the car until your shift is over, whether you like it or not. Chris noticed then that her eyes kept shifting nervously to her van that was parked outside. She turned and walked away, and sure enough, stayed until Chris was finished with his work. He walked up to her window that was rolled down and leaned on it.

"What do you need to talk about?" he asked. "Please make it quick. I have to get home to my kids and fiancé," he told her. Sera sighed and shook her head.

"This is not going to be easy Chris," she told him. "But I've known you all my life and I know that you will make the right decision."

"What are you talking about?" Chris asked, uncomfortable once again. Sera got out of the van and walked around to the side of it. She slid open the door and Chris saw a tiny baby peeking out from the car seat in the back. At first, Chris was shocked, but then he laughed. "You have a cute baby Sera," he told her.

"You don't get it do you Chris?" she asked him. The confused look on his face told her that he didn't. "He's yours," she whispered. With those two words, Chris' entire world fell down around him.

* * *

Back at home, Manny was struggling to get the twins to bed. For some reason, they wouldn't stop crying, but she knew they weren't sick.

"You miss daddy don't you? I know babies, but he'll be home soon." Manny picked up the phone and dialed Chris' cell, getting his voice mail for the third time that night. "Hey, it's me. You should be home by now and I'm getting a little worried. Call me as soon as you get this. Bye," she hung up and turned back to her screaming children. "Shh shh, it's all gonna be alright," she whispered to them. Unfortunately for Manny, she was dead wrong.

* * *

Chris' heart leapt into his throat. He swallowed hard and almost choked.

"What do you mean he's mine? I think you made a mistake," Chris told her.

"No, I didn't. Chris, I know you remember that night. You're the only guy I've ever slept with. It was a stupid mistake, but I got pregnant," Sera told him. Millions of thoughts were racing through Chris' mind.

"But what am I gonna tell Manny?" he asked her, knowing full well that she was unable to give him an answer. "This cannot be happening!" he yelled and a stray tear rolled down his cheek.

"This is Jonathan Christopher Perez," Sera told him, holding the baby up to him and ignoring every word that came out of his mouth. "I gave him your name as his middle name," she said, stating the obvious.

"This cannot be happening!" he repeated. "I have a son and a daughter; they'll be a year old next month. I'm getting married. I can't do this!" he yelled.

"Chris, I moved here so Jonathan could be close to his father. My apartment is only a few blocks away. No matter what you choose to do, you will be in this baby's life. I won't have him grow up without a father like I did," she told him. She was obviously hurt that Chris didn't want to hold his son. She put him back into his car seat. Before closing the side door, she said one last thing. "Look into that baby's eyes and tell me you won't leave him." She shut the door and got into the van, driving away.

Chris looked down and realized that she had shoved a piece of paper into his hand. It had her phone number and address on it. He silently got into his own car and drove back home. He slowly made his way down the stairs to his room, ignoring Heather and Jason who tried to talk to him. He noticed Manny's angry expression, and for a moment, thought that she knew already. He quietly helped her rock their children to sleep, then sat her down on their couch. Choking back tears, he finally spoke.

"Manny, I have to tell you something."


	16. This Is How A Heart Breaks

**Chapter Sixteen: This Is How A Heart Breaks**

**A/N: The title of this chapter is taken from Rob Thomas' song. He owns the lyrics in here too. **

"What's wrong?" Manny asked Chris. She knew it was going to be bad. "You can tell me."

"It's about Sera," he said and paused. Manny's heart sank, but she kept a straight face. "I've ruined everything," he said, putting his head in his hands. He was trying not to cry.

"Just tell me Chris. Whatever you did, there's no changing it. So you might as well just say it," Manny said and rubbed his back. Chris took a deep breath and let it out.

"It all started the day that Lily and Lucas were born," he began, looking at his sleeping children. When I left the hospital, I drove over to the Daniels' house and got all of my clothes. I borrowed some money from Spinner and left for New York. I didn't stay with any relatives because I knew that someone would find me. So, I stayed with my best friend, Mike. His parents were away for a few months, traveling on business. All I did was mope around the house, or lay in bed all day. After I had been there for a month, Mike decided to have a party with all of my old friends to try and cheer me up," he paused once more.

"What happened at the party Chris?" Manny asked him, afraid of the answer.

"Mike's idea didn't work, and I got more upset, thinking about how much I missed you, but I couldn't go back because I was afraid. So I found some beer in the refrigerator. I drank about four or five of them, I don't remember. I stumbled back to my bed where Sera was lying, and she was drunk too. The next thing I knew, I woke up next to her. I knew then and there that I had to be with you, so I came back home. Manny, I'm so sorry…" he trailed off.

"You had sex with her, didn't you?" Manny asked, tears forming behind her eyes.

"Yeah, I did. But that's not the end of it. She's here Manny. She moved to Toronto to be near me," he said.

"Why? Is she in love with you or something?"

"She wants me to be near our son," he finally said. Manny was speechless. She stared at Chris with her mouth open, and tears pouring out of her eyes.

"How does she know it's yours?" she whispered.

"I'm the only one she's ever been with," Chris answered. "Manny, I'm so sorry; I didn't know anything like this was going to happen. I love you, and always will."

"You of all people should know that I hate secrets Chris. Whether you knew she was pregnant or not, you never told me about sleeping with her. Maybe if you had told me the day you came back, I would have the strength to forgive you," Manny said.

I never wanted to hurt you. I…" Chris tried to say.

"Get out."

"But Manny, I…"

"Get out!" she screamed at the top of her lungs.

_And I'm steady but I'm starting to shake  
__And I don't know how much more I can take_

Chris got up and pulled his suitcase out from under their bed. He started packing up his clothes, and Manny kept her back to him the entire time. When he was done packing, he walked over to Lucas and Lily's cribs and kissed them both. He tried to kiss Manny one last time, but she turned away from him. When he reached the bottom of the stairs, he said one last thing.

"I love you Manny." Chris walked up the stairs and out of Manny's life.

_This is it now  
__Everybody get down  
__This is all I can take  
__This is how a heart breaks.  
__You take a hit now  
__You feel it break down  
__Make you stay wide awake  
__This is how a heart breaks._

* * *

For the next two days in school, Manny would not even look at Chris. She knew from talking to Marco that he was now living with Sera in her apartment. Sera didn't go to DCS at all because she had to drop out of school to raise the baby. He was a month old. It was now their graduation night and Manny was talking to Emma and Jimmy before they got started.

"How are you holding up Manny?" Emma asked her.

"I'm fine Em; really," she lied.

"Stop lying. You look horrible," Jimmy told her.

"Gee, thanks Jimmy. That makes me feel great," Manny said sarcastically.

"Sorry. Actually, I've been wanting to tell you something," he said. But before he could, Spinner yelled to him. Both he and Hazel were there to see Jimmy graduate. Hazel was now five months along, and she was getting big. "I'll be right back," he told her and walked away.

"You miss him don't you?" Emma asked her best friend. She noticed that Manny was staring at Chris.

"Not really," Manny lied. For a moment, Chris turned and they made eye contact. He was going to walk over but decided not to when she looked away. Just then, Mr. Radditch came over and told them to go stand in their spots. Mr. Armstrong was calling names and presenting the diplomas. Manny clapped as hard as she could when Jimmy's name was called, and again when Emma's was. When they called Chris' name, (which was somewhere in between her two friends) she held back tears.

Then she turned and looked into the audience. She spotted Spike, Snake, and Jack there for Emma. Next to them were Heather, Jason, Jayden, Caleb, Anthony, Quinn, Lily, and Lucas. Paige, Avery, and Jake were there too. Then she saw Chris' parents sitting with Hazel and Spinner.

"Manuela Santos," Mr. Armstrong announced her name. Manny snapped out of it and proudly walked towards him. She took her diploma, shook his hand, and walked off the stage. After everyone's names had been called, all of the graduates went outside to talk to their friends. Manny got her pictures taken with Emma, Jimmy, and the Daniels family. Her parents never showed up, but she didn't care. Chris came up to her and asked her to pose for a picture with him, and she agreed. After the picture was taken, she walked away from him, got into her truck with the twins in the back, and cried.

A knock on her window caused her to jump. She turned and saw Jimmy standing there. She rolled the window down.

"Sorry I scared you," he said.

"That's okay. Do you want a ride home?" she asked him.

"Sure," he said and climbed into the truck. "How does it feel to have graduated?" he asked her as they pulled away.

"Nothing really special," she said and shrugged.

"Well, I'm glad it's finally over," he said. He noticed that she was very upset. "Did you want some company tonight?" he asked. Manny thought for a minute and almost accepted. Then she remembered that she was having a sleepover.

"Emma, Paige, and Avery are sleeping over. It's sort of a girls' celebration thing. I'd invite you, but I think you'd be really bored," she said.

"Yeah, I guess so," Jimmy said, his spirits sinking. He wanted to tell her something, but decided not to. "Well, here is your invitation," he said, handing her a card. They had just pulled up to his condo, and he got out of the truck. "It's for my graduation party, in a week," he told her. "Just to warn you, Chris is invited too."

"I'll definitely be there," Manny said and gave him a weak smile.

"I'm glad to hear that," he said. "Bye." He shut the door and walked away. He turned to wave as she drove away. "I love you Manny," he whispered, but she obviously couldn't hear him.


	17. Look What You've Done

**Chapter Seventeen: Look What You've Done**

For the next week, Manny's mood went from sad about Chris, to excited about Jimmy's party, and back to sad again. Nothing could completely cheer her up about Chris and the baby. She had seen Jonathan for a brief moment at their graduation, and he was beautiful; a perfect mixture of both of his parents. She wanted nothing more than to bring Chris back into her life and raise his son as her own. She couldn't take a baby away from his mother though, and she knew in her heart that Sera needed Chris more than she did. Manny knew what it was like to have a new baby (two, actually) and be all alone. Sera moved away from her home so her baby would have a father, and Manny couldn't take that away from her. She knew what she was going to do.

* * *

Jimmy spent the entire week thinking of a plan. He loved Manny more than he had every loved anyone else. He saw how great of a mother she was, and wanted more than anything to have children with her. He knew he was too young to be feeling this way, but he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. _Manuela Brooks, _he thought to himself. _It goes well together, _he smiled. He thought about her all the time and finally knew how he was going to tell her. He had a plan. He knew what he was going to do.

* * *

Chris spent the week crying and lying in bed, much as he had the entire month that he was in New York. He couldn't live without Manny, and didn't know what he would do if he never got to see her again. He knew he had made a huge mistake, and couldn't think of any way to make up for it. In Manny's eyes he was scum, and he knew it. He had thought of moving Sera and his son back to New York, and forget all about her, but he knew in his heart that he could never do that. He still wanted to be with his daughter and other son. They were his life, his family. He knew that he needed to talk to her tonight, at the party. It was his last chance. He asked his mother to watch Jonathan (he told his parents about him when Manny kicked him out) while he went out for a little while. Chris knew what he was going to do.

* * *

"Hey Jimmy," Manny said as she walked up to his door. Jimmy snapped out of his daydream and smiled.

"Hi Manny," he replied. "Come on in." Manny, Emma, and Paige were a little late because they were talking with Heather and Jason. They agreed to watch Lily, Lucas, and Avery to give Spike a break. As soon as Manny walked into the party, she scanned the room for any sign of Chris. She didn't see him or Sera anywhere. She decided to give herself time to think before she talked to him.

"Jimmy, can I talk to you a little later? I have something on my mind," she said to him.

"Yeah, of course. I have something to tell you too," he said and smiled.

Manny had been at the party for an hour when she saw Chris and Sera walk into the condo. Sera's hair was down and it flowed to the middle of her back. Her beautiful brown eyes were shining, and Manny could tell that she was happy. After watching them for a minute, a tap on her shoulder startled her.

"Can we talk now?" Jimmy asked her when she turned around. He had just put a song on that he wanted her to hear.

"Yeah," Manny told him. "That's a good idea."

"Let's dance then," he said, and pulled her close to him. It was a slow song.

_We were drawn from the weeds  
We were brave like soldiers  
Falling down under the pale moonlight  
You were holding to me  
Like a someone broken  
And I couldn't tell you but I'm telling you now_

"I've been wanting to tell you this for a long time," Jimmy said to her.

_Just let me hold you while you're falling apart  
Just let me hold you so we both fall down_

He noticed the look on her face and decided not to tell her right that second.

_Fall on me  
Tell me everything you want me to be  
Forever with you  
__Forever in me  
Ever the same_

"What is it Jimmy?" Manny asked him.

"I think I'll let you talk first. I'm not quite ready to say it yet."

_We would stand in the wind  
We were free like water  
Flowing down  
Under the warmth of the sun  
Now it's cold and we're scared  
And we've both been shaken  
Look at us  
Man, this doesn't need to be the end_

A single tear rolled down Manny's cheek. She quickly brushed it away and began to talk.

"I just miss him so much Jimmy," she cried, and the tears came. I know he did something horrible to me, but I just can't live without him. He's the father of my children. I want to try and work it out, but I don't know what I should do," she finished. Jimmy's heart sank into the pit of his stomach.

"Go to him Manny. Tell him how you feel. This might be your last chance," Jimmy said, wiping her tears away. "I care about you too much to see you like this. I know that you love him, so go and get him back," he told her.

"Thank you so much Jimmy," Manny said and threw her arms around him in a loving embrace. "I'll never forget how much you have helped me." Jimmy listened to the rest of the song as she walked away. The song that was supposed to make her want to be with him.

_Just let me hold you while you're falling apart  
Just let me hold you so we both fall down _

Fall on me tell me everything you want me to be  
Forever with you  
Forever in me  
Ever the same  
Call on me  
I'll be there for you and you'll be there for me  
Forever it's you  
Forever in me  
Ever the same

You may need me there  
To carry all your weight  
But you're no burden I assure  
You tide me over  
With a warmth I'll not forget  
But I can only give you love

* * *

Chris was watching Manny and Jimmy the entire time. He watched how she danced so close to him to a song that he was probably using to make her fall in love with him. He watched how she cried and Jimmy wiped her tears, then Manny hugged him. Chris fought to keep his tears back, and reached inside his pocket. He pulled out a flask and took a sip. He'd been drinking it before he ever came to get the courage to talk to Manny. He had refilled it a few times a home, and now downed the rest of it in one gulp. When he saw Manny go into the bathroom to fix her makeup (and probably come back out to be with Jimmy), Chris decided to leave. He knew he couldn't have her now.

He left the condo, knowing full well that he shouldn't drive. He didn't think that anyone had been watching him, but Sera was. She ran outside after him to make sure he wasn't driving anywhere. When she saw that he was heading for his car, she yelled to him.

"Chris! You're not driving!"

"Leave me alone Sera," he growled. She ran to his side.

"You're drunk and I'm not letting you drive," she said, trying to get the keys away from him. He shoved her and knocked her to the ground. Realizing what he had just done, he helped her up. He was still angry though, and did not apologize.

"Get in the car," he told her instead.

"No! I'm not going anywhere with you!"

"Now!" he yelled and grabbed onto her arm. He tried to push her into the car, but she resisted.

"Please Chris, just let me drive," she said, now crying. "You could kill yourself, or someone else. Please," she begged him. Chris ignored her pleas and this time shoved her into the car and shut the door. Before she could get out, he jumped in and pulled away.

* * *

Manny heard all of the commotion through the bathroom window and ran outside. Just as she got there, Chris was driving away. She jumped in her car to follow him, praying that she wouldn't be too late. When she was almost right near his car, she was stuck at a red light while he sped off.

* * *

"Please stop Chris! Please!" Sera was screaming. She managed to get her seatbelt on, but Chris wouldn't stop. He was driving well over the speed limit, and yelling back at Sera.

"You don't understand how much everything has gone wrong!" he screamed. "You can't even begin to imagine all the pain I've been through Sera!" He was crying the entire time.

"Jon, Lily, and Lucas all need you!" Sera yelled to him. "Don't do this."

The light in front of them turned red, and Chris slammed on the breaks. The car stopped halfway into the intersection, and when he turned, a truck was barreling towards them, and couldn't stop. It struck the car on Chris' side, and kept going, pushing the little car sideways. The last thing Sera saw was the telephone pole speeding closer, and everything went black.

* * *

A few minutes after the light, Manny knows she has gotten close to Chris. She sees flashing lights and hears the sirens. As she drives up to the next traffic light, a bunch of cars are blocking her way. She jumped out and ran past all of the other cars. What she saw there made her sick, and she almost lost her balance. Chris' car was pinned between a truck and a telephone pole. There was a rescue team cutting away at the car, trying to get Sera and Chris out. Manny ran right into a police officer, who refused to let her by.

"But I have to see him!" she yelled. "He's my fiancé," she said, showing him her ring.

"I'm sorry, but no one is allowed by. You'll have to meet him at the hospital. I'm afraid it might be too late," the man told her. Manny collapsed into his chest, crying. When she finally gained her composure, she watched the rescue workers, who finally got Chris free first, and put him into the back of an ambulance and sped away. She stayed for twenty more minutes, until Sera was out too. She could hear someone yelling.

"This one has no pulse!" a woman yelled. "Get a defibrillator!" Manny watched as they put Sera on a stretcher and desperately tried to shock life into her frail body. She watched as they tried for a half hour, performing CPR, and shocking her, one after the other. She watched as they gave up, called the time of death, and pulled a sheet over her body.

"No!" Manny screamed. She collapsed onto the ground crying, while rain began to fall. Then she went into shock and blacked out. The police officer got a paramedic to look at her. The woman put her onto a stretcher and brought her to the hospital too.

**A/N: The song is "Ever the Same" by Rob Thomas. I don't own it, he does. **


	18. In A Sweet Dream

**Chapter Eighteen: In A Sweet Dream**

**A/N: The title is based on a Strata song, and they own the lyrics in here.**

Manny awoke in a hospital bed. At first, she wasn't sure why she was there, but then it all came back to her: Chris killed Sera. She was dead. Manny couldn't believe it. No one she knew that young had died since Rick. But now Sera, an innocent girl mixed up in stupid drama, was dead. Manny remembered how tiny she looked when they pulled her out of the car. She began to cry, but stopped for a moment when she noticed she had company. It was Jimmy. He was sitting next to her bed, tears in his eyes, staring at the ceiling.

"Oh Jimmy…" she started to say. As soon as he heard her voice, he looked down at her and smiled.

"I'm glad you're okay," he said. "You went into shock. They were taking you away when I got there."

"Jimmy, I watched her die," Manny said, crying uncontrollably. Jimmy threw himself around her and hugged her for a few minutes, as if he was afraid to let go. When he finally backed up, Manny noticed that he was crying too. "Don't cry," she said, stroking his cheek. "Is Chris…?" she started to ask, but didn't need to finish the question.

"He's alive, but he's surrounded by police officers. He's going to be arrested," Jimmy explained.

"How long have I been here?" she asked him.

"A few hours. Paige came by to see you, but she had to get Avery from your house. She tried to stay until you woke up."

"Can I leave soon?" Manny asked.

"The doctor said that he wants you to stay overnight, to make sure you're going to be okay," he told her.

"Will you stay with me?"

"Of course." Manny moved over and patted the bed next to her. Jimmy slowly got up and sat down.

"Lay with me Jimmy, I'm scared," she said, and burst into tears again. Jimmy lay down next to Manny and put his arms around her. He kissed the top of her head and then stroked her arm until she fell asleep.

* * *

Chris awoke in the hospital about twelve hours later, his head pounding. He broke his left arm and three ribs. There were bruises all over his body, and a huge gash across his left cheek. Every time he moved an inch, pain seared through his entire body. But he was the lucky one. The first person he saw was a police officer, standing next to his bed. He had no visitors. His parents didn't even show up. He wanted to see Manny, but he knew it wouldn't happen. He had blown his chance, and done much more damage than he already had.

"Where's Sera?" he whispered groggily, not caring who answered, just as long as he knew.

"She's dead," he told Chris, who immediately began to cry. He killed her. He got drunk and was stupid enough to drive, but even more stupid when he made her get in. _My life is over,_ he thought to himself. _No, her life is over, all because of you. Now you'll be living in hell._ "Your blood alcohol content was .13 and you're going to jail kid," the officer said coldly. Dr. Anis walked into the room.

"Now that he is awake, you may take him," the doctor told the officer. He looked at Chris with his eyes full of disgust and left the room. Officer Thomas stood Chris up, turned him around, and put handcuffs on him. Chris winced as his broken arm was twisted behind his back, but there was nothing he could do.

"You have the right to remain silent…" he began to tell Chris as he led him from the hospital. Chris walked with his head down, knowing that everyone was staring at him. He allowed the officer to bring him to the cruiser and put him in the back without struggling. It wouldn't do him any good.

* * *

Chris' trial was held three days later, and Manny refused to go. Emma and Paige waited at Manny's house with her. They waited patiently for Jimmy to tell them what happened when he got back. The doorbell rang and Manny jumped up to answer it.

"What happened?" she asked him after she led him to the couch across from her and her friends.

"He was convicted of driving under the influence and vehicular homocide. He got eight years," Jimmy told them.

"Can you guys stay here with the twins? I'm going to see him one last time," Manny said. The three of her friends agreed to stay and watched Manny drive off.

* * *

At the prison, Manny had to go through a metal detector, and then was led by a guard to the visiting room. She was hoping that she'd be able to sit at a table and talk with him, but instead was sat in front of a plexi glass window with a telephone that was connected to the other side. She saw Chris being led to the other side, his head down. When he saw her, he immediately became happier and picked the phone up. She picked her end up too and he spoke first.

"I love you Manny," he said. Manny immediately began to cry and Chris knew from then that this wasn't going to be the happy visit he needed.

"I wanted to be with you Chris. I was going to tell you that I still loved you. I asked Jimmy for advice, and he told me to go to you. I was going to," she cried to him. A tear rolled down Chris' cheek when he realized that Manny had wanted to be with him, not Jimmy.

"Manny, I really screwed up. I still love you, and I always will. As soon as I get out of here, I'll do anything to make it up to you. The four of us can move away and start our family over," he said, putting his hand up to the window. Manny briefly put her hand up to his, but then realized that this was the closest they could ever be.

"You don't get it Chris. I watched her die! You did the worst thing that anyone could ever do. You made a mistake that you can never make up for by taking a mother away from her child. She'll never get to see him walk or talk, and he'll never know her!" Manny's tears were pouring faster.

"Manny, I…" he started to say but she cut him off.

"Sera didn't deserve to die!" Manny yelled.

"I know she didn't and I'm so sorry. You have to believe me when I tell you that I didn't want anything like this to happen. I never wanted to hurt anyone Manny. Not you, not Sera, not anyone. Instead of acknowledging his words, Manny continued to tell him what she needed to.

"I talked to your parents. They said that they couldn't raise another child, especially because of the way he would remind them of everything," she told him. "Jonathan is going to be placed in foster care, and I'm sure he'll be adopted before you're out. He's a beautiful baby, and I'm sure he'll be loved by a lot of people."

"Can you wait for me Manny?" he whispered into the telephone. Manny paused a long time before answering.

"No, I can't," she said truthfully. Chris broke down right then and there, and couldn't control his tears. He calmed himself long enough to ask her one last thing.

"If you love me, and can't wait for me, I want you to take my son. I want you to raise him and give him a good home where I know he'll be loved," he said. "Can you do that?" Manny thought for a few minutes before answering him.

"Yes Chris, I'll do that for you because I love you," she started to cry again.

"I knew it was going to come down to this, so I signed some papers. The guard behind you is going to give them to you when you leave. I've signed away my parental rights to Jonathan so you can adopt him. Thank you so much. I'll never forget you Manny, and I hope you won't forget me. I was never ready for any of this. I'm sorry," he said and sighed.

"Goodbye Chris, I love you. I'll never forget you either," she said and hung up the phone. She saw Chris mouth 'goodbye' from the other side of the window. Manny took the ring off her finger and placed it on the table in front of her. When she stood up, the guard handed her the papers Chris was talking about and she began to walk away. Chris watched her, crying, until a guard came to bring him back to his cell. It was the last time he'd see her for eight years, and possibly forever.

_You probably wish you were  
Anywhere but here...  
Remember this now cause it soon will disappear  
You'll find yourself wishing  
You're anyone but you.  
I'm starting to wish I were  
Anyone but me.  
And I will be broken by this...  
As soon as you wake you will  
Find me on my way.  
And soon when it's safe you may  
Find a love again.  
And I will be broken by this  
Sweet dream  
But it's all I have.  
Seems that it, oh it  
Always bleeds like this  
When nothing's wrong  
But nothing feels right  
You're knocked down and dying,  
You'll stand right back up  
And you'll fall all alone...  
All in this...  
Sweet dream  
It's all I have  
A sweet dream  
It's all I have  
It's the finest moment that you've ever had.  
Like a fallen star in the palm of your hand.  
A sweet dream  
It's all I have  
A sweet dream  
It's all I've got..._

Manny walked back through the metal detector and outside into the cool, fresh air, where she found Jimmy waiting for her. She ran to him and threw her arms around him, and never wanted to let go. He held her in his arms as long as she needed, and when she finally pulled away, he looked into her eyes and for the second time, he wiped her tears.

"I love you Manny," he finally told her. Her eyes widened and she just stood there, looking into his eyes.


	19. Never Coming Back

**Chapter Nineteen: Never Coming Back**

**A/N: This chapter will take a tiny break from Manny and it's going to be really short anyway. I just want a chapter on Paige, but don't worry; the next chapter will be right back to Manny and what happens with her…**

It had been four months since Chris went to jail. Paige couldn't believe everything that happened to Chris and Manny. She thought she had it bad when she got pregnant, but compared to Manny's life, she had it pretty easy. She was sitting on the couch in her house, waiting for Jake to come over. The doorbell rang and she jumped up to answer it.

"Jake! You know you don't have to ring the…" she started to say, but realized that the person at the door wasn't Jake. "Spinner, what are you doing here?" she asked, surprised. He was holding a baby; his baby with Hazel. He was also crying.

"This is my daughter, her name is Maia," he simply said.

"Do you want to come in?" Paige asked him. She felt bad for him, but she didn't know why. She didn't know why he was crying. Spinner walked into Paige's house and closed the door. "What's wrong?" she asked him when he sat on the couch.

"She said she couldn't do it. She wasn't ready to take care of a baby. I don't know where she went Paige," he told her.

"Hazel left you?" she asked.

"Yeah, she did. Our marriage has been annulled. She's never coming back," he said.

"Spin, I'm so sorry," she told him and gave him a small hug.

"I can't raise her alone," he told Paige. "I want us to be a family. Me, you, Avery, and Maia," he whispered.

"Spinner I can't do that," Paige told him. "I love Jake and we're going to get married some day. I'm sorry. I want you to know that we'll do whatever we can to help you out," she told him.

"Paige, I love you. I always have. You don't know how upset I was when I found out that Hazel was pregnant. I always wanted to be with you, I was just scared when you foundout that you were pregnant. I didn't think I could raise a baby, but now that I have one of my own, I love her so much. But I can't do this alone."

"I can't be with you Spinner, it's too late," she said and shed a few tears for him.

"I'll never give up on you Paige. Just know that if you ever need me again, I'll be there and I won't leave you," Spinner told her. He kissed her lightly and stood up. At that minute, Jake walked into the house.

"Um, hey Spinner. What's up?" he asked. Normally, a guy would immediately be angry if he found his girlfriend with her ex-boyfriend, but he trusted Paige, and knew she wouldn't do anything to hurt him.

"Nothing. I was just leaving," he told Jake and walked out of the house.

"What was that all about?" Jake asked Paige as he sat down beside her.

"He just needed someone to talk to," she told him. "Hazel left them," she added.

"Poor Spinner," Jake said. "He's a good guy, he doesn't deserve that. But I'm guessing he came back to ask you to be with him."

"Yeah, he did. But I told him that I love you and would never leave you," she said. Jake smiled and kissed her. Paige pulled Jake down on top of her and kissed him back. They had been together for seven months, and Paige knew she was ready. "Make love to me," she whispered in his ear.

**A/N: Spinner and Hazel's daughter's name is pronounced 'Maya.' **


	20. I Love You

**Chapter Twenty: I Love You**

Eight long years have passed since Manny visited Chris in prison. She never went back after that day. As soon as she got home, she made arrangements to adopt Jonathan and the process passed quickly. She was soon eighteen years old with three children. Now she was twenty-five years old. The day she had been waiting for since she was a child was finally here. She was getting married.

Emma was the maid of honor, and Paige and Heather were bridesmaids. Jason was there to give her away, and Spinner and Jake stood with her soon-to-be husband. Marco, Dylan, JT, and all of Manny's other friends she graduated with were there. Jake and Paige had gotten married the year before, and Emma and JT hadn't set a date for their wedding yet.

On this day, Manny was the happiest she had been in a long time. Lily and Lucas were now nine years old, and Jonathan was eight. Lily was the flower girl, and Lucas and Jonathan were both ring bearers.

"And Manuela Santos: do you take Jimmy to be your lawfully wedded husband? To have and to hold, to love and to cherish, in sickness and in health, until death do you part?" the priest asked her. She opened her mouth to answer, when she heard Lily and Lucas yell.

"Daddy!" they yelled in unison. Manny turned around to see Chris standing halfway down the aisle. Everyone gasped.

"Manny! Don't do it! I love you!" he yelled to her. "I know you said you couldn't wait, but we were supposed to get married! Don't you remember?" he asked, holding up the ring she had left on the table eight years ago. "I'm out now, and we can be a family." Manny wiped a stray tear from her cheek and sighed.

"Chris," she said. "As much as I love you, I can't marry you. I've been with Jimmy for eight years now, and I love him. I'm sorry Chris, but it's too late. It's always been too late," she said. "I'll always love you Chris, remember that okay?" Manny turned back to Jimmy and looked straight into his eyes. "I do," she finally got to say.

"You may now kiss the bride," the priest told Jimmy. He obeyed and kissed Manny long and hard, something he had been waiting for ever since he spoke to her by their lockers at the beginning of their senior year in high school. Chris turned around and started to walk away.

"I'll always love you too Manny," he whispered as he left the church.

**A/N: The End! How was it? I know this chapter is short, but it was meant to be. Never fear! There will be a third and final story! I'm not going to write it until At Last is finished though. I also have another story for Degrassi that I'll start as soon as I can. Hope you liked it. **


End file.
